Date   : Sun, 17 May 2009 21:26:32 +0100
From   : jumbos.bazzar@... (Mark Haysman)
Subject: Copyright

>> I was lucky enough to wangle an invitation to the Computer
>> Conservation Society's gathering of some of the BBC Micro creators at
>> the Science Museum in London last year.  The same question was raised
>> during the Q&A session, which Sophie (formally Roger) Wilson answered
>> as she'd worked with Acorn through many of it's incarnations.
>>
>> She basically summed it up as being a legal minefield - and that it
>> was unlikely to ever be sorted out without bringing in expensive
>> lawyers.
>>
>> I guess that doesn't help much - but it might be worth dropping her a
>> mail.  Perhaps she can at least point you in the direction of who
>> might possibly have a claim ...
>>
> Have sent an email and will se what she has to say.
>
> I guess I can always ask each company for a statement that they have no
> interest in Acorn 8bit software.
>
> In a related question does any Source for MOS, DFS, VFS etc exist anywhere 
> ?

There are disassemblies for those, but not actual source from the original 
creators. Rob Northen wrote the 1770 DFS for Acorn as well as a lot of copy 
protection stuff of the time:

http://zakalwe.fi/~shd/amiga-cracking/rob_northen_interview.txt

He may still have the source somewhere archived.

On the copyright matter, would the IP holder even bother to sue, knowing 
that they would get damages proportional to the loss of income, a number 
which surely would be next to nothing now, and not worth their effort. 
However, it would be good to get a statement of intent for these, like I 
believe the Sinclair crew has from Amstrad regarding the Speccy and CPC.

Mark.

Mark.