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Path: utzoo!linus!decvax!ucbvax!ucdavis!lll-crg!seismo!harvard!stew
From: stew@harvard.ARPA (Stew Rubenstein)
Newsgroups: net.micro.mac
Subject: Re: Public Domain Pong Game
Message-ID: <440@harvard.ARPA>
Date: Sat, 19-Oct-85 14:12:38 EDT
Article-I.D.: harvard.440
Posted: Sat Oct 19 14:12:38 1985
Date-Received: Mon, 21-Oct-85 07:20:05 EDT
References: <8510080737.AA26809@ucbkim> <323@tekig4.UUCP> <206@telesoft.UUCP>
Reply-To: stew@harvard.UUCP (Stew Rubenstein)
Organization: Aiken Computation Laboratory, Harvard
Lines: 33
Keywords: copyrights public domain

In article <206@telesoft.UUCP> garym@telesoft.UUCP (Gary Morris @shine) writes:
>In article <323@tekig4.UUCP> briand@tekig4.UUCP (Brian Diehm) writes:
>>> Here is an implementation of the game of pong.  I got it from a local
>>> Mac bulletin board.  It apparently is in the public domain--there is
>>> no notice to this effect, but there is absolutely no copyright notice
>>> or "About Pong" message under the apple menu.
>>
>>Be aware that the "PONG" resource (# 0) bears the message:
>>
>>	"!Copyright 1985, David L. O'Connor"
>>
>>I doubt this is a legally binding copyright notice, but that isn't the point.
>>I'd hesitate to call this "public domain."
>
>I can't find anything invalid in that copyright.  To be a legal copyright
>it must contain the word "Copyright" OR a C with a circle around it (a real
>circle, parenthesis don't count), it must have the year of release and the
>owners name (company or individual).  This copyright meets all these
>requirements.  
>-- 
>Gary A. Morris -- USENET   :  ...{decvax,ucbvax}!sdcsvax!telesoft!garym
>		  CompuServ:  76317,520
>		  TeleMail :  GMorris/TeleSoft
>"Always listen to experts.  They'll tell you what can't be done 
> and why.  Then do it."  	--  Lazarus Long

This is true.  However, there is also a requirement for adequate notification.
I am not sure that stuffing the copyright notice in some resource is adequate.
A normal user would never see the notice.  If David O'Connor decided to sue
the poster or the users of his game, my opinion (I'm not a lawyer) is that
he wouldn't have a chance.

Further followups and discussion should not be in net.sources.mac.