Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!uwm.edu!ogicse!zephyr.ens.tek.com!orca.wv.tek.com!frip!andrew
From: andrew@frip.WV.TEK.COM (Andrew Klossner)
Newsgroups: comp.os.cpm
Subject: Re: Infocom-- Public Domain?
Message-ID: <7005@orca.wv.tek.com>
Date: 4 May 90 15:32:54 GMT
References: <5086@hub.ucsb.edu>
Sender: news@orca.wv.tek.com
Reply-To: andrew@frip.wv.tek.com
Distribution: comp
Organization: Tektronix, Wilsonville, Oregon
Lines: 19

[]

	"Someone noted that the Infocom company was no longer.  Does
	this imply that software they published is now in the public
	domain?"

No.  When a company stops operating, they still retain the rights to
their assets, and can transfer them.  Activision, or whoever owns them,
holds the rights to the Infocom software.  This leaves new CP/M users
in the frustrating position of wanting Infocom CP/M games but having no
legal means of obtaining them, other than buying them from other CP/M
users or from the dusty stocks of distributors.

On a similar note, it should be mentioned that CP/M dBASE II, whose
port has been discussed here recently, is still copyright by
Ashton-Tate, even though they no longer sell or support it.

  -=- Andrew Klossner   (uunet!tektronix!frip.WV.TEK!andrew)    [UUCP]
                        (andrew%frip.wv.tek.com@relay.cs.net)   [ARPA]