Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!usc!apple!ntg!dplatt
From: dplatt@ntg.uucp (Dave Platt)
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.lans
Subject: Re: Question on PCBridge, PCRoute and serial line drivers
Message-ID: <55@goblin.ntg.uucp>
Date: 11 Apr 91 17:19:05 GMT
References: <11689@davidsys.com> <41137@cup.portal.com>
Reply-To: dplatt@ntg.UUCP (Dave Platt)
Distribution: usa
Organization: New Technologies Group, Inc.  Palo Alto CA
Lines: 35

In article <41137@cup.portal.com> amc@cup.portal.com (Alan Michael Crawley) writes:

>PCroute is no longer public domain. It is commercial share-ware.
>All rights were purchased by LANport Inc. from Northwest University. Contract 
>signed in Feb 1991.  Copyright not yet changed everywhere.

Ummm... as Nomad said, "Non sequitur.  Your facts are uncoordinated."

By definition, something that has been released into the public domain
means that anybody can do anything to and with it, for no fee
whatsoever.  "Public domain" means that _nobody_ has a copyright on it.
If, in fact, a version of PCRoute was explicitly released into the
public domain by its authors, then anyone may continue to use this
version for free, forever.

On the other hand, if PCRoute is "Copyright Northwest University, may be
used for free", then it's not public-domain.  It's "freeware"... the
authors are retaining the rights, and are granting people a fee-free
license to use it.  Legally, that's quite different from "public
domain";  it means that the authors retain the rights to dictate who may
do what with their product (they can, for example, forbid people to sell
it).

I don't know which of the two situations holds true for various versions
of PCRoute, as I don't have a copy on-line here.  I suspect that it's
the latter.

I'd suggest that anyone who is using an existing version of PCRoute
might want to check whatever copyright, README, and licensing documents
came with the software.

-- 
Dave Platt                                                VOICE: (415) 813-8917
                    UUCP: ...apple!ntg!dplatt
 USNAIL: New Technologies Group Inc. 2468 Embarcardero Way, Palo Alto CA 94303