Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!crdgw1!uunet!sci34hub!gary
From: gary@sci34hub.sci.com (Gary Heston)
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.lans
Subject: Re: Question on PCBridge, PCRoute and serial line drivers
Message-ID: <1991Apr12.170433.26896@sci34hub.sci.com>
Date: 12 Apr 91 17:04:33 GMT
References: <11689@davidsys.com> <41137@cup.portal.com>
Reply-To: gary@sci34hub.sci.com (Gary Heston)
Organization: SCI Technology, Inc., Huntsville, Al.
Lines: 34

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.

Sorry, you're out of luck on all existing distributed copies. You may very
well have future rights for an enhanced version of PCroute, by you have NO
claim on any which were distributed prior to any agreement you signed with
Northwest. You also can't control the existing copies--anybody who has one
can redistribute it to anyone, without any obligation to you. 

Once released into the public domain, it's public domain. Anyone can use
it, or modify it for their own use, freely and without charge. Anyone can
pass it on to anyone else. It is possible to take a public domain item, 
alter it, and then sell it under a different arrangement, but the public
domain version you started with is not affected, no matter what fantasies
you want to believe in.

I suggest you go hire an attorney who has some copyright law experience,
and no interest in your company, so that you get some rational idea of
what you're doing. If you believe you can extort money from current users
of PCroute, or anyone given a copy of the version prior to your agreement
with Northwest, you're crazy. 

>To register for info on enhancements, support and licensing contact :
>LANport Inc.

Or, better yet, let's all just do business elsewhere....

-- 
Gary Heston   System Mismanager and technoflunky   uunet!sci34hub!gary or
My opinions, not theirs.    SCI Systems, Inc.       gary@sci34hub.sci.com
I support drug testing. I believe every public official should be given a
shot of sodium pentathol and ask "Which laws have you broken this week?".