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Path: utzoo!utcsri!utegc!utai!garfield!dalcs!silvert
From: silvert@dalcs.UUCP
Newsgroups: comp.sys.atari.st
Subject: What is Public Domain
Message-ID: <2419@dalcs.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 24-Feb-87 16:57:11 EST
Article-I.D.: dalcs.2419
Posted: Tue Feb 24 16:57:11 1987
Date-Received: Wed, 25-Feb-87 02:39:09 EST
Organization: Marine Ecology Lab.
Lines: 38
Keywords: Bundled programs, PD


George Seto, an active user of my BBS (biomel) but not a UseNet groupie,
asked me to post the following.  He raises some good questions, and I
will pass on the net responses.  I think that the legal issue about
previously bundled software which gets unbundled is probably pretty
clear, but what people actually do may be more reasonable.  The issue is
especially appropriate in light of Simon Poole's decision to distribute
the Uniterm documentation is 1st-Word form, since the program is no
longer PD.

Incidentally, my dealer, Peter Allan at Sector Software in Halifax and
Dartmouth, N. S., telephoned GST to ask about the status of 1st-Word and
the Plus version.  Apparently they are having a rough time with Atari,
since Atari has the rights to 1st-Word and is supposed to pay them
royalties, but since Atari is way behind schedule on distribution, they
are losing a bundle.  He is a very loyal Atari-only dealer who is
feeling the pinch that Simon speaks of (not helped by the fact that his
Halifax store is right across the street from an Amiga dealer who is
dying to get his first 2000 in!).

Anyway, here is George's message:

@@@ From: George Seto [seto], 87/02/17 21:35:02
I wonder would you post a message asking
about what the NET users consider to be the definition of Public Domain.
Do they feel NeoChrome, or First Word to be in that category?
Do the Public Domain items have to have a notice contained within the program
which is visible to the user? Also what is their feeling about the
magazine programs? Their status as to the Public Domain? ST-Log is the ONLy
one I know of which has a policy statement contained within the magazine
covering the use of the magazine's programs by user groups and bbs's.


-- 
Bill Silvert
Marine Ecology Laboratory, Dartmouth, NS, Canada
CDN or BITNET: silvert@cs.dal.cdn	-- UUCP: ..!{seismo|utai}!dalcs!silvert
ARPA: silvert%dalcs.uucp@seismo.CSS.GOV	-- CSNET: silvert%cs.dal.cdn@ubc.csnet