17 Mar
2010
17 Mar
'10
3:59 a.m.
At 10:33 PM 3/16/2010, Fred Cisin wrote:
There are, indeed, some questions of the legality of
"adhesion contracts",
such as shrinkwrap agreements, and even some issues on transfer of
ownership of a licensed copy.
Placing a work on a site for anonymous download without the consent of the
owner of the copyright is certainly NOT a "gray area".
Perhaps something like the legal concept of adverse possession will
arise in the software world. If the original owner isn't actively
pursuing violations, perhaps the IP rights could be turned over to
some other party who did preserve it and does show an interest in it.
In my case, I actively developed a product for a decade. In 1997 I sold it
to another company, who plowed it under in less than two years. That company
itself was bought, sold, split, merged a few times since then. I can't even
find anyone within the company who will return my calls or emails, much less
be able to admit with any certainty what happened to the source, who has it,
and whether they'd turn the rights back to me. Buying the IP does give you
the right to bury it under a rock.
I hope there's a significant fraction of software developers who would
be tickled to hear their old stuff is still being appreciated. I suspect
many would be glad to give it away.
- John