Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!husc6!rutgers!ucla-cs!zen!ucbvax!MAINE.BITNET!THOMPSON
From: THOMPSON@MAINE.BITNET (R. Brent Thompson)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.atari.8bit
Subject: (none)
Message-ID: <8801061719.AA21464@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU>
Date: 6 Jan 88 16:16:33 GMT
Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Organization: The ARPA Internet
Lines: 59

In vol88, issue 2 of the Info-Atari8 Digest, hackit@ai.mit.edu
(john Bunch) writes,
>     I would like to know if anyone out there knows of the status of
> speedscript,ei. is it in the public domain.  I would like a copy of it
> to use with cc8 If anyone knows of the status of it pleaslease let me
> know.

I wrote to the Editor of COMPUTE! a while back about using Speedscript
for the Apple 2 in an educational setting (a microcomputer cluster).
I was informed that it is definitely NOT in the public domain, that
COMPUTE! retained the rights to it, and that we would have to purchase
a copy of it for each machine.

They are, of course, perfectly within their rights at COMPUTE! to hold
to that position.  No argument there.  But the exchange does point out
a subtle (in the minds of users) but critical (in the minds of publishers)
issue.  For a piece of software to be in the public's hands is not at all
the same as being in the public domain.

Software gets into the public's hands by being published (then by being
pirated, black bagged, stolen, ripped off, etc., but we won't go into
the little matter of those "unofficial" distribution channels right now).
Software goes into the public domain when the copyright holder says,
"OK, if anybody wants it, go ahead and copy it."

I'm sure John understands this distinction, or he wouldn't have brought
up the issue; he would simply have asked for the program.  But I thought I
might point out for anyone who wasn't aware that most of the magazines that
publish software specifically reserve all rights to the software.  If we want
the program, we're supposed to buy the magazine or the disk, just like the
more traditional commercial ware.

I can't see Richard Mansfield coming out with the sheriff to throw somebody
in the slammer for typing in a copy of some program out of a friend's back
issue of COMPUTE! rather than buying the back issue.  But I've noticed
references to a number of bulletin boards in this Digest, and people who
are sysops or club software librarians need to keep an eye out at least for
the better-known pieces of magazine software (?periodicalware?), and not
put them on the boards without the copyright holder's permission.  As for
who holds the copyright, in almost all cases it is the MAGAZINE, not the
author who holds it, and therefore holds the power to grant permission
to copy the program.

Sorry about the soapbox speech, but after needing asbestos gloves to
read the letter form COMPUTE!, I thought I'd share with everyone,
especially people associated with bulletin boards or software libraries,
the publisher's totally unambiguous position.

By the way, COMPUTE! wanted me to buy a copy of the MANUAL for EACH
machine as well, a totally unreasonable position when they sell the
program disk separately from the manual.  The result:  we bought Apple
Writer for the cluster.  Much more expensive, but no high handedness.
On second thought, maybe I *can* see him coming out with the sheriff....

Brent Thompson                             I had two spiders once,
BITNET:  THOMPSON@MAINE                    but they could never see
MA BELL NET:  207 581-2510                 eye to eye to eye to eye...
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            Orono, ME 04469