Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watnot!watmath!clyde!rutgers!ames!cit-vax!usc-oberon!sdcrdcf!trwrb!desint!geoff
From: geoff@desint.UUCP
Newsgroups: comp.os.minix,comp.mail.uucp,comp.sources.d
Subject: Re: uucp source copyright status - IMPORTANT
Message-ID: <303@desint.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 23-Mar-87 14:55:10 EST
Article-I.D.: desint.303
Posted: Mon Mar 23 14:55:10 1987
Date-Received: Thu, 26-Mar-87 00:57:56 EST
References: <480@gouldsd.UUCP> <694@brl-sem.ARPA>
Reply-To: geoff@desint.UUCP (Geoff Kuenning)
Organization: Interrupt Technology Corp., Manhattan Beach, CA
Lines: 26
Xref: utgpu comp.os.minix:447 comp.mail.uucp:353 comp.sources.d:488

Keywords:

In article <694@brl-sem.ARPA> ron@brl-sem.ARPA (Ron Natalie <ron>) writes:

> Up until very recently you never found a copyright notice in UNIX software.
> UNIX is not protected by copyright, but rather by trade secret.  In your
> agreement with AT&T (or Western in the old days), you agreed not to
> divulge the UNIX source code nor information on how it operates.  Despite
> the lack of copyright notices in UUCP, it is still AT&T proprietary.

I'd decided to keep my trap shut about this during the recent Yacc
controversy, but since Ron's mentioned it I thought I'd toss in my two
cents' worth.  The interesting thing about trade secrets is that if
they ever get publicly exposed, even if it's through malice, they are
effictively lost.  The interesting thing about copyrights is that, if
you can prove that the copyrighted material was ever published WITHOUT
a copyright notice, you can't ever claim copyright.

I will leave you to draw your own own conclusions about Yacc on the
DECUS tape.  You ain't gonna catch ME prodding the AT&T lion.

WARNING:  I'm not a lawyer.  If you take actions based solely on the legal
opinions in this article, you are an idiot and I do not accept
responsibility.
-- 

	Geoff Kuenning
	{hplabs,ihnp4}!trwrb!desint!geoff