Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!cs.utexas.edu!sdd.hp.com!decwrl!ucbvax!world.std.com!bzs From: bzs@world.std.com (Barry Shein) Newsgroups: comp.society.futures Subject: A lot of stuff that's been happening lately Message-ID: <9008270822.AA10369@world.std.com> Date: 27 Aug 90 08:22:53 GMT References: Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU Organization: The Internet Lines: 33 I wrote, and Peter da Silva replies... >> Within the next two years (whatever, soon) an individual will be sued >> and personally financially destroyed over a major freeware package. > >What sort of freeware? I can see that with shareware or GNUware or other >ware where the author claims to retain some control over the product. But >what about PD software? Well, the crystal ball is fuzzy on specifics... Although a lawyer should be consulted I'm not convinced that merely putting something in the public domain frees one of all responsibilities (for example, if I published something libelous, but marked it in the public domain, would that absolve me a priori? I think the two acts are quite independent.) The path of least resistance would probably be where the author retained significant rights to the software, which is what I think you're getting at. But the strongest strategic point would be made by harrassing someone who was not easy to write off as "oh, that's just such and such, s/he probably has lots of enemies", it would be most vicious if it was some poor, innocent random joe (or jane), not a firebrand. Remember, I was talking about evility, not justice. -Barry Shein Software Tool & Die | {xylogics,uunet}!world!bzs | bzs@world.std.com Purveyors to the Trade | Voice: 617-739-0202 | Login: 617-739-WRLD