From: js
if they still wanted income from it, it'd still be
for sale. If it's
not for sale, and I can find it, then I'll use it and be sure not to
profit from it.
This ties in with something called 'fair use' under US IP law, see here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_use
for more. Basically, 'fair use' permits _limited_ use of copyrighted material
without acquiring permission from the IP owners; there is a 4-part test which
is applied to determine whether a non-licensed use meets 'fair use'. The
parts are:
"- the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a
commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;
- the nature of the copyrighted work;
- the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the
copyrighted work as a whole; and
- the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the
copyrighted work."
ii) doesn't really apply here, and of course one would score poorly on iii),
but since a) one's not making any money from it, that would score highly
under i), and b) there is zero effect on the market, since the thing isn't
even for sale, so scoring highly under iv).
So use for vintage computer hobby puposes might well be (in the US at least)
'fair use', and not in fact infringing, even without a license. In other
countries, it will depend on their copyright laws; e.g. in Israel and Poland,
the same might be true.
Noel