Re: Vintage Apple II commercial software and US law

[PZ <skierpaul@yahoo.com>]

On Aug 8, 6:46 am, Steven Lichter <diespamm...@ikillspammers.com>
wrote:
> PZ wrote:
> > On Aug 1, 6:19 pm, Steven Lichter <diespamm...@ikillspammers.com>
> > wrote:
> >> MdntTrain wrote:
> >>> On Aug 1, 4:51 pm, Steven Lichter <diespamm...@ikillspammers.com>
> >>> wrote:
> >>>> It could cost someone hundreds of thousands of dollars in attorney, court
> >>>> costs as well as damages.
> >>> Honestly, wouldn't it cost way more to go AFTER them, assuming you
> >>> could ever even collect?  PLus you'd have to go after them in their
> >>> state, am I right?
> >>> Also out of curiousity, why would someone give a hoot about protecting
> >>> *vintage* software -- say from the 1980's?   Why would someone NOT
> >>> want to just let it go freeware for the sake of good community?
> >>> ~ J
> >> It really is not that hard, there are both Federal and International
> >> laws in place.  I belong to the Software Publishers of America and they
> >> have legal staff that handle most cases.  In the one case I went after
> >> someone, he told me to go stuff it, well I really did not get must out
> >> of it, but it did bring the world onto him.  It is up to the copyright
> >> owner if the feel it is worth the work, even on old programs, movie and
> >> record companies protect their right, if you don't then you lose the
> >> right  to them
>
> >> --
> >> The Only Good Spammer is a Dead one!! Have you hunted one down today?
> >> (c) 2007  I Kill Spammers, Inc. A Rot In Hell Co.
>
> > You referring to Wilson?
>
> > - Paul
>
> I'm not going to id the persons involved, I know there was a news blip
> on my case as well as a couple of other that the SWPA acted on last
> year. It cost  me nothing and what I got out of it would not have been
> worth the efford had I had to pay the legal costs, but I had no choice
> but to  take the action.  Now I have an offer to either sell the program
> or allow it to be distributed, Im having the program updated since I
> have not had the time to do it and then go from there.  There is an
> interest in it, but I don't think there is much of a profit in it since
> the program would not sell for more then $20.00 a copy, the  support
> that would have to be given would cost more then that.
>
> --
> The Only Good Spammer is a Dead one!! Have you hunted one down today?
> (c) 2007  I Kill Spammers, Inc. A Rot In Hell Co.

It would be tough to sell it given that METAL is still widely
available free to those who are interested in this kind of thing.  You
might be able to get a couple bucks here and there.  ProTerm still
sells at least a dozen copies a year, and Intrec hasn't updated their
website in eons.

- Paul