Re: Backup Copies

["Sheldon Simms" <sheldon@interprice.com>]

Im Artikel <3ACDE8E6.E664FAEB@inetnebr.com> schrieb "Roy and/or Janet
Miller" <millers@inetnebr.com>:

> Sheldon Simms wrote:
> 
>> There is quite a large difference between the two situations. Money is
>> inherently valuable; old "out of print" software isn't.
>
> Oh? Have you seen the prices on eBay? People still buy stuff from
> Goodwill et al. So the stuff does have some value, and therefore, your
> point is invalid.

Not true. eBay prices are for collectors items. old disks. Not for the
software or its functionality. Lets say for example that someone sells
a good condition original Copy II+ disk from 1985 for $20 on eBay. Are
you trying to argue that Central Point Software could resurrect and sell
Copy II+ disks for $20 a piece? You know they can't. If they tried it
they might sell 10 or 20 as people who want new copies grab the chance,
but after the initial "rush" they'd be lucky to sell 2 a year. The very
fact that the copyright holders of Apple II software tend to act like
they never heard of an Apple II is because their copyright is worthless.

Sure old disks, manuals, books, etc have value as collector's items,
but that has nothing to do with intellectual property or protecting
the rights of copyright holders.

>> You may be under the impression that somehow having the police involved
>> makes it ok to gain ownership of money that originally didn't belong to
>> you. The fact it, the police have nothing to do with the issue per se,
>> apart from the fact that they are an easily accessible central location
>> where the owner can claim his lost property. If the owner shows no
>> ownership interest, then the money becomes the property of the finder.
>
> You are, again, assuming what I am thinking.

I'm not assuming. I'm postulating. You may or may not have been under
the impression. I didn't say you were.

> And you are in error anyway. The police, at least in some
> jurisdictions, are, by law, the designated place to take such an item.

I don't doubt it. The question is why? It's not because the police
have the authority to effect a transfer of ownership. It's because
the police are a effective interface to the public and are assumed
to be trustworthy fiduciary with respect to the property in question.

The reason that you can gain possession of money you find is that
the law says that abandoned property belongs to the finder.

>> But as I'm sure you know there are many cases where the contact has not
>> been possible, or it's not even clear who the copyright owner is, and
>> furthermore, no one who has a property interest in the software has
>> shown the slightest interest in the software for many years.
> Which, as I said in point three of my post, then it's up to your
> conscience. A "good faith effort" would mean sending email(s), or making
> phone call(s), and if you run into a dead end, well, at least you tried.
> You showed some concern about the copyright owners rights, and tried to
> do the right thing.

I don't disagree that a "good faith effort" is a good course of action.
It is not, however, legally required under the concept of abandoned
property. Let there be no doubt about it. The law is not on your side.
If you think otherwise, go to the police -- You know you won't get
anywhere. File a lawsuit -- you know it will be thrown out. The only
way you can win is if a) you are the copyright holder of some software,
and b) you have shown interest in maintaining your intellectual property
rights recently.

If Apple decided to sue someone for distributing Appleworks, they would
probably win - and receive a couple dollars in compensatory damages. If
the heirs of Sirius Software decided to sue someone for distributing some
old game, they would probably lose.

-Sheldon