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From: hes@ecsvax.UUCP (Henry Schaffer)
Newsgroups: net.micro
Subject: Re: Re: Modifying Copyrighted ROM's
Message-ID: <945@ecsvax.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 18-Dec-85 09:23:54 EST
Article-I.D.: ecsvax.945
Posted: Wed Dec 18 09:23:54 1985
Date-Received: Fri, 20-Dec-85 03:31:26 EST
References: <1019@homxb.UUCP> <4712@alice.UUCP>
Organization: NC State Univ.
Lines: 30

>[Andrew Koenig writes]
> I'm not a lawyer, so take this with a large grain of salt.
  Neither am I ...             ditto
> 
> > I am curious as to the legality of taking a copyrighted ROM from my
> > own computer and making a copy of it (with changes) and then using this
> > new ROM in my computer (I had to do this to support an oddball disk on
> > my IBM PC/AT).  Did I do anything illegal (Egad!).  What if a friend
> > who also owns a copy of the original ROM wants a copy of the new ROM.
> > Can I give him one? ...
> 
> When you made a copy of the IBM ROM without their permission, you
> violated the copyright law. ...
   Given that you own a legal copy - might you be able to alter it
   (within your own computer) so that you could use it - and claim
   fair use or something like that?  Certainly you haven't done anything
   that diminishes the copyright owner's sales.  (When you load a 
   copyrighted program from the disk into your ram, you have made a copy
   but that is ok.  Maybe there is an analogy here?)
> 
> If your friend wants a copy of the new ROM, you must get permission
> from IBM before you make said copy.
   Agreed, but you could give a copy of your modifications.
> 
> The law as I understand it is extremely simple:  you need permission
> from the copyright holder in order to make a copy of a copyrighted
> work.  Period. ...
   I believe that there are certain exceptions to this - under "fair use"
and there may be others.
--henry schaffer