Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!swrinde!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!decwrl!mcnc!rti!bcw From: bcw@rti.rti.org (Bruce Wright) Newsgroups: comp.windows.ms Subject: Re: Windows installation disk compression? Summary: Derivative work? Message-ID: <1991Feb10.044940.9678@rti.rti.org> Date: 10 Feb 91 04:49:40 GMT References: <12281.27a9a905@ecs.umass.edu> Organization: Research Triangle Institute, RTP, NC Lines: 33 In article , otto@tukki.jyu.fi (Otto J. Makela) writes: > In article <1991Feb8.041654.16071@rti.rti.org> bcw@rti.rti.org (Bruce Wright) writes: > 2) If you distribute both the archive _and_ the unpacking > software, you will in all probability have to pay a licensing > fee to the company that makes the unpacking software. [...] > > There are "free" versions of UnZip available, but for non-commercial use only. > Writing their own unpacker would probably not be a major task, since the > format is specified quite well in the zip application notes. > > However, LHARC type sources are widely available with no strings attached. > They could use these with slight modifications, but then they would not be > "standard" anymore... The main problem with this is ensuring that the sources are _really_ available with no strings attached, or that the format is _totally_ in the public domain. I don't know what the copyright laws are like in Finland, but under US law it would be quite possible that if any of the code in any portion of the product (even the unpacking software) belonged to a different company or individual, it would be quite possible that the _entire product_ would be ruled a derivative work and royalties and/or damages might be assessed. Given the current mixed-up situation in the US regarding computer software copyright and patent law, using code of uncertain provenance is EXTREMELY risky, and not because of the danger of a hidden virus. It's not even certain that you can use a compatible file format for the archive file without running into trouble. IMHO the current situation is rather stupid. But _I_ didn't write the law! Bruce C. Wright