Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!bloom-beacon!athena.mit.edu!captkidd
From: captkidd@athena.mit.edu (Ivan Cavero Belaunde)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac
Subject: Re: Official Legal Announcement regarding Apple's Source Code
Message-ID: <12051@bloom-beacon.MIT.EDU>
Date: 16 Jun 89 16:51:25 GMT
References: <32402@apple.Apple.COM> <627@acheron.UUCP> <350@ctycal.UUCP>
Sender: daemon@bloom-beacon.MIT.EDU
Reply-To: captkidd@athena.mit.edu (Ivan Cavero Belaunde)
Organization: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Lines: 39

In article <350@ctycal.UUCP> ingoldsb@ctycal.COM (Terry Ingoldsby) writes:
>In article <627@acheron.UUCP>, clarke@acheron.UUCP (Ed Clarke/10240000) writes:
>> From article <32402@apple.Apple.COM>, by postmaster@apple.com (Erik E. Fair):
>> - I have been asked to post the following announcement widely.
>> - 	Erik E. Fair	apple!fair	fair@apple.com
>> - Apple's consent or authorization.  Any copying or use of Apple's source
>> - code constitutes willful copyright infringement and knowing possession
>> - of stolen property, and may result in both civil and criminal
>> - penalties.
>What if somebody stole a recording from a recording studio and played it over
>a radio station.  Would all the people receiving the transmission be at fault?
>They just happened to have their radios turned on at the wrong time, and received
>the stolen material.  Perhaps one of the people with their radio on was talking
>long distance to a relative, and the song got transmitted via the telephone.
>Would the telecommunications company then be held responsible for carrying the
>stolen transmission?

I'd think not.  However, if one of the listeners decided to pop a tape in a
deck and recorded the stolen music, and kept it even after being informed
it was stolen, it would be illegal.  I think part of the purpose of this
posting is to make people who read c.s.m and have received the source code
to delete it.  I agree with Apple's (implied) statement than keeping copies
of the source code around *is* willful copyright violation (the key word
here being willful - if you receive the disk, you did not decide to receive it.
If you *keep* the disk or make copies of it, you decide to do so).

However...
The people at Apple should have had the tact to *ask* people to delete,
and possibly asking for their cooperation (ie reporting receiving the
stolen stuff to Apple) in detecting the thieves.  I gotta believe knowing
all the people who received the source code could give you some
pretty good clues to who stole the code.  Threatening legal action and
throwing your weight around will not get you cooperation from most people.

>  Terry Ingoldsby                       ctycal!ingoldsb@calgary.UUCP

-Ivan Cavero Belaunde

Internet: captkidd@athena.mit.edu