Date : Mon, 17 Oct 2005 19:21:04 +1000 (EST)
From : Peter Craven <cjl_craves@...>
Subject: Re: Distribution of old software
David
I really do not know the legal ins/ outs, but I for
one would be happy/ proud if people were to think that
software I made was still considered worth to be
wanted.
Cheers
Peter
--- David Harper <dl.harper@...> wrote:
> What are the opinions of the people on this list
> about the sharing of old
> software? I am thinking of software for the Beeb
> which, presumably, is still
> within copyright, but which is otherwise
> unobtainable, which will never be
> sold again commercially, and from which no-one would
> ever expect to make any
> further profit.
>
> In particular, there have been a few people on the
> list who have acquired a
> Master 512 / 80186 co-pro, but do not have the
> DOS-Plus disks to go with it.
> The co-pro is (practically) useless without the
> disks, but there is nowhere
> you can buy them. I still have a working 512
> (actually a 1Mb version), and I
> have the original disks which are still perfectly
> good. I could very easily
> make copies of the disks for others.
>
> Is this acceptable practice? The software was
> originally produced by Acorn
> and Digital Research, but who now owns the copyright
> since Acorn was split
> up / sold off / renamed, and DRI folded, is
> anybody's guess (or does someone
> know?)
>
> In a similar vein, I have quite a lot of the
> programs produced for the 512
> by Essential Software. (I wrote a few of them.)
> Essential Software closed
> down in 1994, and I have not been in touch with
> Robin Burton since then. I
> doubt that he would want payment for any of these
> items now, but is it
> acceptable to share them?
>
> Sorry if this issue has been done to death on this
> list in the past. I have
> only recently discovered the list after being away
> from the Beeb for many
> years.
>
> David Harper
>
>
>
>
Dr Peter Craven (MBBS Uni. of Qld)
12 Treacher St
Mt Gravatt
QLD 4122
Ph (H): (07) 3349 0820
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