4 Sep
2001
4 Sep
'01
10:38 a.m.
A) Anybody know anything about the company that
marketed these, as I don't
want to intentionally break any copyright laws; but with no info on the
internet & the extreme possibility of the company no longer existing, does
anyone think I'll be in trouble with the law WRT copyright laws? I'm mainly
just using the original as a pattern for (1) the signal names & pinouts,
and (2) the dimensions of the connectors & pins (I didn't have anything
else that had the ground pegs on either side of the connector).
If you are redesigning for YOUR use only, then at least in the US, there
is no copyright problem any which way (it falls under Fair Use).
The designs (when they get closer to completion) I will
have on my website
for free, but if I make several cards and someone else is dumb^H^H^H^H bold
enough to purchase one I would sell them for a small profit...
This is where you can get in trouble. If you make your mods available to
the public (even if for free), you can be seen as infringing upon the
owners rights. However, if the company has gone out of business, you
probably wont get in any trouble. But do NOT confuse out of business with
public domain, they are not one in the same, just because the company is
out of business or isn't selling the item any more, does NOT mean that
the item is public domain. They still have the rights to it, and can
choose how and where it can be made available. I personally still don't
think you will have a problem, but you will most likely technically be
breaking the law.
-chris
<http://www.mythtech.net>