sean@ms.uky.edu (Sean Casey) (04/21/91)
Another piece of software posted as Threatware. "I'll see that this automatically gets stored on your system. But if you use it more than 30 days without paying, you're breaking the law." Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiight. I wonder what the publically funded network administrators would say to this unauthorized use of their resources for direct commercial gain? Wouldn't it be interesting if they threatened to pull plugs for passing this manure? X NOTICE ! ! ! ! X X X_HASH IS >SHAREWARE< ! YOU MUST READ AND COMPLY WITH THE TERMS X IN THIS FILE IF YOU WISH TO USE THIS DATA IN ANY WAY!!! X X X_HASH IS (C)1991 BY KENNETH JAMIESON X X ALL RIGHTS RESERVED X X X * You may use this code for thirty (30) days before payment is X due. This evaluation period begins when you first access this X code. After that time, you must register this code. X X * Registration allows you to use this code for an unlimited X period of time. Not: registration does NOT remove the X restriction on use in commercial code. X X X Whew! Well, now that that is out of the way I feel better! He shouldn't... Sean -- ** Sean Casey <sean@s.ms.uky.edu>
jfh@rpp386.cactus.org (John F Haugh II) (04/21/91)
In article <sean.672170731@s.ms.uky.edu> sean@ms.uky.edu (Sean Casey) writes: >Another piece of software posted as Threatware. "I'll see that this >automatically gets stored on your system. But if you use it more than >30 days without paying, you're breaking the law." I've sent the poster a bill. If any of the other systems out there charge for data services, I encourage you to do so as well. -- John F. Haugh II | Distribution to | UUCP: ...!cs.utexas.edu!rpp386!jfh Ma Bell: (512) 255-8251 | GEnie PROHIBITED :-) | Domain: jfh@rpp386.cactus.org "If liberals interpreted the 2nd Amendment the same way they interpret the rest of the Constitution, gun ownership would be mandatory."
tar@math.ksu.edu (Tim Ramsey) (04/21/91)
sean@ms.uky.edu (Sean Casey) writes: >I wonder what the publically funded network administrators would say >to this unauthorized use of their resources for direct commercial >gain? Wouldn't it be interesting if they threatened to pull plugs for >passing this manure? Well... there is precedent. comp.binaries.ibm.pc accepts shareware packages. Note that I don't completely agree with the idea of shareware packages being posted to anything besides a newsgroup created to pass commercial traffic. Perhaps biz.shareware? >X NOTICE ! ! ! ! >X >X X_HASH IS >SHAREWARE< ! YOU MUST READ AND COMPLY WITH THE TERMS >X IN THIS FILE IF YOU WISH TO USE THIS DATA IN ANY WAY!!! >X >X X_HASH IS (C)1991 BY KENNETH JAMIESON >X >X ALL RIGHTS RESERVED (C) is meaningless, btw. I think he meant "Copyright" or <c-in-a-circle>. And why does just about every copyright notice scream at you in allcaps? Is there some legal reason? If I wish to use "THIS DATA" to line my birdcage, do I still need to send Ken $15? :-) -- Tim Ramsey/system administrator/tar@math.ksu.edu/(913) 532-6750/2-7004 (FAX) Department of Mathematics, Kansas State University, Manhattan KS 66506-2602 -- Have you hugged your Diet Pepsi today?
dev@ei.ecn.purdue.edu (Larry Weeks) (04/22/91)
In article <1991Apr21.154623.9736@maverick.ksu.ksu.edu> tar@math.ksu.edu (Tim Ramsey) writes: >>X X_HASH IS (C)1991 BY KENNETH JAMIESON > >(C) is meaningless, btw. I think he meant "Copyright" or <c-in-a-circle>. Actually, isn't all code automatically copyrighted, under the latest revisions to the Federal copyright lows? I was under the impression that unless you implicitly place it in the public domain, you have a legal case for ownership should you wish to pursue it... Larry dev@ecn.purdue.edu
jik@athena.mit.edu (Jonathan I. Kamens) (04/22/91)
(Note the cross-post and Followup-To. If we're going to discuss
copyrights yet again, then misc.legal is the right place to do it, not
alt.sources.d. The people in the misc.legal newsgroup are probably,
on the average, more capable of speaking on this issue from the point
of view of someone who actually knows the laws.)
In article <1991Apr22.063901.20792@noose.ecn.purdue.edu> dev@ei.ecn.purdue.edu (Larry Weeks) writes:
Actually, isn't all code automatically copyrighted, under the latest
revisions to the Federal copyright lows?
Please remember that Federal copyright laws are not the whole show.
International copyright law also needs to be taken into consideration
in some situations. I believe that in the case of "(C)" vs.
"Copyright" or "c-in-a-circle" is one such situation -- if I recall
correctly from the last time this was discussed, (C) is enough to
ensure copyright in the USA, but not enough to ensure it under
International copyright law.
I was under the impression
that unless you implicitly place it in the public domain, you have a
legal case for ownership should you wish to pursue it...
There are situations where you implicitly grant the right to freely
redistribute, and you can't then go back and later ask people to pay
for what they got while the code was freely redistributable.
For example, if you post code to the Usenet, with no copyright
notice, you are almost certainly not going to be able to win if you
ever decide that the code was copyrighted and try to collect on it. A
case where you put a copyright notice in, but the copyright notice is
invalid (e.g. no "Copyright" or "c-i-a-circle"), is less clear, but
there is still some room for you to lose if you ever go to court.
Jonathan Kamens USnail:
MIT Project Athena 11 Ashford Terrace
jik@Athena.MIT.EDU Allston, MA 02134
Office: 617-253-8085 Home: 617-782-0710jfw@ksr.com (John F. Woods) (04/23/91)
dev@ei.ecn.purdue.edu (Larry Weeks) writes: >In article <1991Apr21.154623.9736@maverick.ksu.ksu.edu> tar@math.ksu.edu (Tim Ramsey) writes: >>>X X_HASH IS (C)1991 BY KENNETH JAMIESON >>(C) is meaningless, btw. I think he meant "Copyright" or <c-in-a-circle>. >Actually, isn't all code automatically copyrighted, under the latest >revisions to the Federal copyright lows? Yes, the US is now a signatory to the Berne Convention; everything you write is, by default, copyright. Some countries are not signatories, and may or may not require a printed c in a circle or the words "Marca Registrada" or whatever. But the basic claim of "ooh ooh (C) doesn't mean anything!!!!" has been pointless for several years: it doesn't mean anything, but it doesn't have to any more -- and it certainly serves notice that the author wanted a copyright, probably strengthening any suit.