In article <WLdZe.2615$G64.250@newssvr12.news.prodigy.com>,
Steven Lichter <shlichter@diespammers.com> wrote:
Zorin the Lynx wrote:
Great Hierophant wrote:
[...]
This, by the way, is why I get so annoyed when folks whine about
Asimov and piracy; I think letting this software languish and
become lost to history is a much greater crime than pirating
software that is no longer commercially viable and not distributed
by its authors.
-Z
Some authors don't want their works distributed in this way and we
all have to respect that. Even if they are lost, the person who wrote
the program aor has the rights has the final say.
Not entirely. Each party to a copyright matter has the rights and
obligations specified in Title 17 of the USC and elsewhere. For example,
�117 imposes limitations on the author's exclusive rights over computer
programs.
The legalities of fair use preservation by individuals and libraries are
discussed here:
<http://fairuse.stanford.edu/commentary_and_analysis/2003_11_hirtle.html>
In particular, "[Users] may also bypass access control mechanisms in
computer programs and video games distributed in formats that have
become obsolete and which require the original media or hardware as a
condition of access."
We may note that Apple Computer assiduously refers to the Apple II line
of computers in terms suggesting that the series is obsolete.
If they did not then it would turn the net into hell and then we
would have the Feds and others trying to regulate, and all the sites
would go down. Just look at what has happened to music sites that
allowed user to user D/L's.
IANAL.