Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!ames!vsi1!octopus!pete
From: pete@Octopus.COM (Pete Holzmann)
Newsgroups: comp.graphics
Subject: Re: World Data Bank II (non?) Availability
Summary: Somebody needs to call up NTIS for verification!
Message-ID: <1990Mar21.004324.2922@Octopus.COM>
Date: 21 Mar 90 00:43:24 GMT
References: <415@hal.CSS.GOV> <141623@felix.UUCP> <13850@watcgl.waterloo.edu> <390@airgun.wg.waii.com>
Reply-To: pete@octopus.COM (Pete Holzmann)
Organization: Octopus Enterprises, Cupertino CA
Lines: 40

In article <390@airgun.wg.waii.com> fvance@airgun.wg.waii.com (Frank Vance) writes:
>Our copy of the WDB II tapes bears a label which reads, in part:
>    "This file is made available by NTIS to increase public accessibility
>     to Federally funded technology.  Reproduction for re-use or resale is
>     not authorized without the expressed permission of NTIS."
>
>The cover letter contained a statement:
>    "Since NTIS is required by law to be self-supporting and must recover all
>     costs of its operations from the sale of its products, NTIS requests that
>     you do not resell this product in its original form as provided by NTIS."

These statements jibe perfectly with what NTIS told me when I contacted them
about redistributing the Hershey Fonts.

But I'd like to reiterate: *before* we go ahead with any plans for mass
distribution of a reformatted WDBII, somebody should call NTIS and make
sure that the policy holds for WDBII in the same way that it does for the
Hershey fonts. This action will also ensure that we are in compliance
with statement #1 above.

In short:
1) We must obtain explicit permission to redistribute a reformatted version
	of WDBII.
2) NTIS requires that we not distribute WDBII "in its original form".

In case you might be wondering about the NTIS statement above regarding
'NTIS...must recover all costs of its operations...', their attitude is
that any redistribution of NTIS data "in its original form" could eventually
come back to them as a request for support, since the data is recognizably
in NTIS form. If the data is reformatted, then they cannot be held responsible
for it in any way, and should therefore incur no costs relative to the
redistribution.

Pete
-- 
Peter Holzmann, Octopus Enterprises   |(if you're a techie Christian & are
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