Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!apple!ames!sun-barr!texsun!letni!lawnetg
From: greg@lawnet.LawNet.Com (Gregory G. Petersen)
Newsgroups: news.admin
Subject: Re: Clarinet and Royalties
Keywords: clarinet royalties
Message-ID: <310@lawnet.LawNet.Com>
Date: 15 Jun 89 01:38:53 GMT
References: <18430@unix.cis.pittsburgh.edu>
Reply-To: greg@.LawNet.Com (Gregory G. Petersen)
Distribution: na
Organization: LawNet Inc.  California Offices.
Lines: 31

In article <18430@unix.cis.pittsburgh.edu> msw@unix.cis.pittsburgh.edu (Matt S Wartell) writes:
>What I would like to know what percentage royalties Clarinet Corp. will
>be paying to the authors of the news transport and news reading software.
>
>Larry Wall's excellent program "rn" carries a copyright:
>
>	You may copy this program so long as you don't try to make
>	money off of it...
>
>I'm sure the b-news and c-news people may feel the same way.
>
>Has Clarinet Corp. written news transport and news reading software from
>scratch?  I doubt it.

Given the actual statements made in most of the news type software such as
the one discussed above I would believe that the use of such software, 
either by a commercial network or the subscribers thereto, may be a basis
for a claim of copyright infringement against either the commerical network
or the user of the network, more likely the network since it makes the profit.



Actually the remote site using the program is also involved in the use
of the software in a profit making endeavor which may, in of itself, violate
the alleged copyright (assuming the validity of the copyright itself - a
complex question in and of itself).
-- 
Gregory G. Petersen, Esq.                  greg@lawnet.LawNet.Com
Petersen & Trott, A Law Corporation            (714) 971-1441  
770 The City Drive South, Suite 2100
Orange, California 92668