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From: guest@vu-vlsi.UUCP (visitors)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc
Subject: Re: POE copyright problems
Message-ID: <1062@vu-vlsi.UUCP>
Date: Sun, 16-Aug-87 20:07:37 EDT
Article-I.D.: vu-vlsi.1062
Posted: Sun Aug 16 20:07:37 1987
Date-Received: Mon, 17-Aug-87 00:45:09 EDT
References: <7108@g.ms.uky.edu>
Reply-To: 164485913@excalibur.UUCP (Mark Schaffer)
Organization: Villanova Univ. EE Dept.
Lines: 42
Keywords: copyright, public domain

In article <7108@g.ms.uky.edu> sean@ms.uky.edu (Sean Casey) writes:
>
>At the beginning of POE.DOC:
>
>
>-                          ProComm Outside Environment
>-                                   POE 1.0.0
>-                                July 22nd, 1987
>-
>>                      Copyright (c) 1987 by Mark Herring
>>                         Donated to the Public Domain
>
>
>Note the lines with the arrows.  People can write marvelous software,
>but they can't tell the difference between a Copyright and Public
>Domain.  Someone should call him up and tell him that he invalidates
>his own Copyright.
>
>If you don't know, Copyright means you control the right to copy.
>Public Domain means that you have relinquished all exclusive rights
>to it.

What we have here is not necessarily a invalidation of his copyright.
If the author further explains (he may have done this, I do not have a
copy of the whole file) something to the effect that the program may be
freely copied in its unaltered form, for non-profit use, etc. the author
is still the only person allowed to legally sell it for profit and prosecute
those parties that otherwise violate the copyright.  Meanwhile, people can
still legally copy and distribute this program for non profit use to their
heart's desire.


----Mark

 
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