Copyright

[bobryan9@my-deja.com]

Copyright law was probably originally drafted and passed as a way for a
person or company to protect something they own so they could sell it
and nobody could just copy it, claim it theirs, and then sell it
themselves.  This would cut into the authors/companies profits.  It
would be just plain unfair.  If you did the work, you should profit
from it.  If somebody copies the software and sells it while you are
selling it, it is stealing.

If a company or author no longer sells his/her/its software, what is
copyright protecting?  It isn't protecting anything.  It is preventing
people from using the product (if it isn't available used or
commercially).  If somebody were taking all the old titles and claiming
that they were their work and selling them with this claim, it would be
stealing.

I am sure there are some people/companies that are stubborn and won't
take the time or effort, however small it may be, to reclassify thier
software.

There is also the "I wrote it, it's mine, you can't copy it" view too.

But if nobody is saying they don't want it distributed, what is
copyright protecting?

I've found some extremely rare software (drivers for 1979 interfaces,
etc) and I've been able to find people who worked on the project.  They
are HAPPY to supply the software.  They are extremely pleased to know
that someone has use for the work they did long ago.  Most of the time
they will send disks by snail-mail and refuse offers for me to pay
shipping!  Of the 5 or so rare programs I've obtained this way,
copyright was never mentioned FIRST by the person I was in contact
with.  A few times it would take a while for someone to email me back,
and I'd worry that the person was concerned with copyright.  I would
email them and ask them if this was the case.  In every case when I
asked if they were ignoring me due to copyright, I received a reply to
the effect of "What?  This software was released 18 or so years ago.
The company now designs PC chips and software.  They don't even know
what an Apple II is or that the company made this stuff back then.
Besides, I worked on the project, the software is available, you have a
use for it, and it is doing nobody any good sitting here on this dusty
disk.  Give me your address"

If you want to complain about copyright, find a company whose software
is illegaly on the net 2)contact them and let them know the situation 3)
have them take action to remove the software.

Just because something is illegal does not mean the law makes sense,
even if it did a few years ago.

Is it justice for a judge to uphold an unjust law?  Yes, he's doing his
job.  No, he us upholding injustice.

There are copies of commercially available and still supported titles
on the net.  Why don't you go take care of those?

The fact is that this is not a current piracy battle.  It is people who
were damaged financially/emotionally when certain people pirated their
stuff way back when.  It is a battle against one person.  Charles
Turley.  Do you chase down somebody who turns without a signal, and
harrass them?  Do you send them letters and give them hell?


Bob


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