C70:info-cpm (07/13/82)
>From BYTE@Mit-Mc Mon Jul 12 23:59:13 1982
I, too, am rather bugged with what's been happening recently. In regards
to the software tools that Jerry has been publicizing in his column in
BYTE, I would have liked to have seen him mention the alternative of
being able to download this software from a number of RCPM systems around
the country. I think that publicizing these RCPM systems will serve to
put even more software into the public domain.
I'm not totally familiar with the Workman disks, so I do have a question
that might shed some light: are these disks public domain themselves? If
our computer club were to purchase them (as it does the CP/M UG, SIGM, and
others), can it distribute them to our members?
Something along the same line that bugs me a *LOT* more is the number of
people who took the Small-C compiler that Ron Cain put into the public
domain, put a few improvements in it, and sell it s their own. A friend
bought a compiler that is labeled Copyright Quality Computer
Systems. I think it cost around $100, and is nothing more than an
enhanced Small-C.
It boils down to a matter of cost and ownership. If I release a program
that I wrote to public domain, I don't want *ANYONE* making money off of
it. Period. I also don't want people to enhance it and call it
their own. Period.
<flame off>
RogerC70:info-cpm (07/14/82)
>From POURNE@Mit-Mc Wed Jul 14 00:14:36 1982
1. If someone will tell me how to access this marvy source I
might be willing to write about it; although my readers in
general do not know how to do this (and indeed I do not know how
to access most of this stuff.)
2. Maybe you ought to write an article on the subject. that way
you get paid, and you get your message across.
3. No, I won't say itC70:info-cpm (07/15/82)
>From SEILER@Mit-Xx Wed Jul 14 20:54:35 1982
I think the chief ripoff in selling public domain software is not the
fact that it is being sold, but the fact that the sellers apparently
do not identify the software as such. If I take someone else's code
and modify it, I have no right to claim that it is "my code". If I
don't even modify it, the situation is even more obviously stealing
(morally, at least, if not legally). Of course, I know why the people
who sell public domain software don't mention that it is public domain -
people would be less likely to buy it if they knew that they could get
it for free. Perhaps this is where a copyright notice would help.
Someone could still sell the code, but failing to include the copyright
notice would surely be a violation of the law. And even if a buyer
didn't find out beforehand that the code was public domain, I bet he'd
(she'd/it'd) get rather bugged to see a notice "copyright 1981 J. Hacker -
this code is in the public domain" printed out when he runs the code
he just paid $200 for. Maybe (I hope) bugged enough to take his business
to a more honest vendor.
Larry Seiler, Seiler@XX
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