Todd_A._Bakal@UB.CC.UMICH.EDU (08/27/88)
> This is the scenario: > > Suppose I wanted a great program for my Apple II that > was made a long time ago by a company that is now > defunct. The product has gone the path of the > unsupported software and there is no way to contact the > company to get the product... At what point in this > search is it allowable to copy the software from a > friend that happens to have it? Is it ever legal? Even > if it is illegal, is it immoral? > > On a slightly related sidenote.. What ever happened to > ProTree Software? Is there any way to get in contact > with the creator of the program (Bob Garth)? This is the law: When most software companies go belly up, one of two things happen: a) the rights to their products are bought out (usually at a good price) by a competitor. Even if the competitor doesn't want to market the software, they might want to use a single algorithm that they want to legally obtain from the first company. b) the rights return to the author of the program who may dispose of them as he/she pleases. Often, the person *does* put the work into the public domain, but there's no guarantee unless you speak to the person, and it's not a bad idea to get it in writing. Copyrights last for the Author's life + 75 years. It's a bad idea to assume that programs become PD after the company gives up selling them. You can't buy AppleWriter anymore, but you can bet that if you start selling the program under your own name "JohnQPublicWriter" that you'll hear from the Apple or Claris corporate attorneys pretty fast. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Todd A. Bakal ILLEGITIMIS NON CARBORUNDUM U of M Apple User's Group -- Ted Nelson (1974) Ann Arbor, Michigan ARPA: Tabakal@ub.cc.umich.edu BITnet: Tabakal@UMICHUM