Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!bonnie.concordia.ca!thunder.mcrcim.mcgill.edu!poly-vlsi!flatlinr
From: flatlinr@vlsi.polymtl.ca (Miguel Pedro)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.cbm
Subject: Re: The Law,Chips,Code......A question
Keywords: copyrights violation illegal
Message-ID: <1991May15.040012.17313@vlsi.polymtl.ca>
Date: 15 May 91 04:00:12 GMT
References: <12031@mentor.cc.purdue.edu> <1991May13.104535.42722@eagle.wesleyan.edu> <1991May13.230536.3536@uoft02.utoledo.edu>
Sender: news@vlsi.polymtl.ca (USENET News System)
Organization: Ecole Polytechnique de Montreal
Lines: 29

In article <1991May13.230536.3536@uoft02.utoledo.edu> grx0644@uoft02.utoledo.edu writes:
>I have been dabbling with the 1571 roms, trying out different mods to the roms
>(using eproms and such). I am wondering if I can sell my hypothetical UPgrade,
>would I be breaking the copy right laws since some of the code in the chip was
>not written by me???

I believe you can't do that. Using someone else's code, even in part, is
a copyright violation. You can't modify a copyrighted program in any way.
Since the code is not PD, you can't use it for your own purposes.

However, if you only use the algorithm, and you program everything from
scratch, I think you have the right to sell it since it will be original
work.

Obviously, this is a time-consuming idea :-)

I suggest you to contact Commodore and try to get consent from them. If they
accept to let you modify and sell the upgrade chip, I think you won't have
any problems in doing so. You can also contact the author directly (if he
retained the rights).


P.S. I am not a lawyer, and I'm happy not to be one! :-)


--
   Miguel Pedro
   (Send any E-mail to flatlinr@info.polymtl.ca)
   (cinf07@info.polymtl.ca was my previous account)