allan@wookie.dbaccess.com (C. Allan Rofer) (05/18/91)
We are building an application using ISODE code and we have come upon a problem. There appears to be no way we can track the originality of the source code; therefore, we cannot testify as to the owner of the code nor to the rights of the distributor of the code to license it to anyone. This could lead to some very nasty situations where the original owner comes around to "claim his/her rightful possessions". As we are all aware, the intellectual property rights issues in software can be very cloudy. My questions for discussion: 1. Who owns the code (and therefore has the right to distribute it)? Note: Marshall Rose will not respond except to point me in the direction of the manual preface, which is, of course, useless for answering this question. 2. Is there some agreement that each contributor signs regarding the disposition of the code? If not, why do you think the ISODE group has the right to distribute the code? 3. What are other companies who distribute products with ISODE code doing about this originality issue? Are they liable for surprises? I am manifestly interested in seeing the use of ISODE code throughout the computer community; witness the fact that I am using it myself. However, I think that these origin issues need to be resolved before companies who worry about these issues can participate. Thanks. Note: I have sent a question about this to bug-isode@nisc.psi.net and received no response. If you send reply by email, I will summarize.