Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!wuarchive!udel!princeton!njsmu!mccc!pjh
From: pjh@mccc.edu (Pete Holsberg)
Newsgroups: comp.binaries.ibm.pc.d
Subject: Re: PKZIP license (FAQ?)
Keywords: PKZIP shareware etc
Message-ID: <1991May16.152541.13933@mccc.edu>
Date: 16 May 91 15:25:41 GMT
References: <1991May13.214634.18373@bronze.ucs.indiana.edu> <1991May14.161702.19360@mccc.edu> <1991May15.183441.23715@bronze.ucs.indiana.edu>
Organization: The College On The Other Side Of Route One
Lines: 80

In article <1991May15.183441.23715@bronze.ucs.indiana.edu> rschmidt@copper.ucs.indiana.edu (roy schmidt) writes:
=I wrote:
=>=In any case, yes, your school must register to be legal.i
=>
=Pete Holsberg writes:
=>
=>I think that it has been established (although not tested in the
=>courts) that not paying for or registering shareware is *not* illegal. 
=>It may be "cheating" but ...
=>
=
=Let's consider this a moment, Pete.  The trial use of software is no 
=different than the trial acceptance of a book.  You examine the book,
=determine its suitability to your needs, and then you either return the
=book or pay for it at the end of the trial period.  It would certainly
=be illegal to retain the book without paying for it.

I don't agree.  If you send for a book on a trial basis, it is clear
that if you do not return the book within N days, you will be billed for
it.  Publishers do not put their books in a storefront where anyone can
walk in and take a copy; they use controlled distribution.

=The shareware idea is the same concept:  You obtain a copy of the
=software and try it.  You decide to continue using it.  If you do not
=pay for the continued use, you most certainly are guilty of theft.

IYHO! :-)

=If
=this has not been tried in court, it is because of the problem of tracking
=down the thieves.  It is difficult to tell who is or is not using the
=software.

Again, IYHO.  IMHO, it is because it has no basis in law.

=Thus, the shareware system relies on a certain degree of
=trust.  Just because it is difficult to locate perpetrators does not
=make the theft legal, just hard to enforce.  This problem is not unique
=to shareware.  Just think of the huge number of pirated copies of
=popular commercial software in use.  Microsoft will probably confirm
=that the #1 pirated software package is MS/PC DOS.  Can Windows be far
=behind?

And many publishers of commercial software have begun to prosecute those
who have illegally obtained copies of their software!

=And, if it hasn't been tried in court, then it has *not* been
=established.

Either way!

=We spend a lot of time and money in our schools teaching our business
=students about ethics and law.

We do?  I seem to recall that there were a bunch of articles in the NY
Times a while back decrying the lack of ethics courses in B schools!

=It just seems sad that there are still
=so many that would split hairs and feel justified in their act of
=dishonesty simply because no one will bother to prosecute them.

I agree.  And then there are shady characters like used-car salesfolks
and US advertisers who deliberately mislead potential buyers.  There's a
commercial I see from time to time featuring the basketball players
David Robinson and Charles Barkeley.  Robinson asks Barkeley how one
"earns" a fine in the NBA and film clips show CB in action.  Then DR
asks CB if he's ever been fined, and CB says, "No, no, noooooo....!" 
Then, DR says, "CB is a wonderful basketball player but HE HAS A
TERRIBLE MEMORY [emphasis added]."  Not that he lied; but he didn't
remember.  Gee, we had a president like that, too.

Incidentally, I pay for shareware that I use regularly.  Not because I
believe it's illegal not to, but because it feels right.

Pete
-- 
Prof. Peter J. Holsberg      Mercer County Community College
Voice: 609-586-4800          Engineering Technology, Computers and Math
UUCP:...!princeton!mccc!pjh  1200 Old Trenton Road, Trenton, NJ 08690
Internet: pjh@mccc.edu	     Trenton Computer Festival -- 4/??-??/92