Re: What about an Apple Gamebase ?

[Rubywand <rubywand@swbell.net>]

Sean Fahey writes ...
> 
> "Rubywand" <rubywand@swbell.net> wrote:
 ....
> >
> > To legally qualify as "theft", something of value must be taken. Oldie
> > software is generally considered to have no significant market value to
> > the rights holder. Freely distributing or downloading oldie software does
> > not meet the tests for loss established by statute relating to copyrights.
> > There is no crime
>
> 
> What tests? In whose judgment? Isn't that an assumption? Not to nit here,
> but if you take something you aren't entitled to, whereas the author or
> publisher hasn't surrendered their rights or changed the terms of
> distrbution of said item, how is that not potentially theft?

     The related statutes tell how to figure the actual loss in dollars. For
oldie software, the loss due to free distribution would nearly always come out
to zero.


> I say potentially, because we are speaking in the hypothetical, and
> conditions may not be the same for all situations.

     Sure. There are a few very rare exceptions. 

     For instance, for years MECC would not allow its oldie edu wares to be
listed. Perhaps, they figured free availability on Apple II would compete with
sales of for-PC versions. Most likely, the resulting loss of visibility of
their wares had the opposite effect.



 ....
> >
> > Another reason was for purchasers of originals to have a backup (which is
> > allowed by law). Some copy protection schemes which are critical about
> > things like alignment and timing eventually lead to disk failure.
> > 
> 
> True, true... but how many people made a legal backup of their software and
> then said, "Hey, I'll upload this to the local BBS for safekeeping, but
> before I do, I'll put a little blurb for my own BBS, "Pirate's Cove" with a
> phone number so other people like me can send me their backups!"
> 
> C'mon, I was one of those kids - we traded with just about everyone - our
> sole purpose was to collect as many programs and games as possible so we
> could be the biggest, baddest collectors. We also had a technical interest
> in seeing how everything worked, but it was mostly for prestige and bragging
> rights and because we didn't have any dough to buy Karateka. Being a
> teenager in middle school, without a job and only about $10-$15 a week
> (which we spent on floppy disks or D&D stuff) made buying software tough -
> we had a "stick it to the man" attitude.

     Well, then, you were software pirates.

     Something to consider is that, from the start, computer games were
virtually always over-priced. Piracy helped to get games to players who would
never have purchased them even at half the sale price. This promoted interest
and boosted sales of non-pirated originals (in a box with docs, etc.) at the
inflated price.

     Piracy certainly harmed profits from sales of some products; it probably
increased profits on sales of items like adventure games.

 ....
> 
> > There may be a few guys swapping copies of currently sold IIgs
> > software; don't know. Otherwise, in 2004, there's no such thing
> > as "Apple II piracy".
> 
> Eh, well I did see a couple of bootlegged copies of currently shipping
> commercial CD-ROMs (Syndicomm stuff) being sold at a local retro-computing
> swap meet last year.

     Maybe you should report the bootlegger to Syndicomm.

....

> 
> > A company which keeps silent on free distribution
> > of its oldie A2 software does not give up its rights.
> 
> I agree but thats not quite what I said - a company that fails to defend
> it's copyrights will be in a weaker position if they later choose to
> excercise their copyright. That premise is one I have personal experience
> in.

     Lots of variables. If the owner clearly knew about the unauthorized
copying and did nothing and the copying went on for a long time, it will
probably be harder to recover losses in civil court. 

 ....

> >
> > In general, the best stance for a company is to have no stated stance
> > about free distribution of its oldie wares. It derives the benefits of
> > having its name and the name of some game series, etc. promoted;
> > and, it retains all of its rights.
> 
> Thats not how most businesses "think" about their property.

     Could be; but, it's pretty much the way software companies feel about
their oldie software. For instance, the Apple II Ultima releases have no market
value to Origin. 

     The oldie Ultimas do have considerable promotional value. Players of
"Ultima", "Ultima II", ... get exposed to what amounts to a commercial for
Origin and the Ultima series every time they play the game. Most of the players
have a modern PC and are a lot more likely to be interested in buying current
Origin games, especially the for-PC Ultimas.

     To a greater or lesser extent the same applies to other oldies from other
companies and individuals. Name recognition and associations with enjoyable use
experiences are worth a great deal in today's crowded market.

     For the Apple II oldies to have maximum promotional value, they need to be
freely and easily available to Apple II users. That would be impossible without
the free public archives.

 ....


Rubywand