17 Mar
2010
17 Mar
'10
4:51 a.m.
On Tue, 16 Mar 2010, Chuck Guzis wrote:
Current US copyright is 95 years post mortem auctoris
or 95 years
after publication for works still in copyright in 1978 (WTO URAA). I
don't think there was much software written before 1923, but I could
be mistaken.
So you have some time to wait.
And sometimes, the IP ownership of stuff LONG GONE is still extremely
valuable. If Adam Osborne had acted promptly enough to obtain a share of
the Visicalc IP from any of the multiple heirs to it (at one point, $10K
would have bought it), he would have been more than invincible to Lotus.
When Novel bought Digital Research, it was not for any tangible assets,
other than the copyright for CP/M, and the power that that had to keep
MICROS~1 at bay.
Ask any musician about copyright and
"abandonware". There are
publishers that have in their libraries scores that have been out of
print for 50 years with no intention of resurrecting them. Those
same firms will sue you for distributing copies that you've made
yourself.
The situation of music and software copyrights are quite similar. The
lack of effective use of a copyright doesn't diminish the ownership of it.
"Abandonware" doesn't exist unless there are no heirs to the IP. In fact,
in some cases multiple entities can have enforceable rights. (such as
Visicalc, or even the Seattle Computer Products non-exclusive right to
"the operating system")
It's also worth noticing that sometimes the copyright is held by the
PUBLISHER, not the AUTHOR. Does Sheb Wooley still get any royalties for
his share of what little money still comes in from "One Eyed One Horn
Flying Purple People Eater"?
--
Grumpy Ol' Fred cisin at xenosoft.com