Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!husc6!cca!mirror!prism!john
From: john@prism.TMC.COM
Newsgroups: comp.binaries.ibm.pc
Subject: Re: MEAN18 AUTHOR REPLIES TO POSTING:
Message-ID: <235400006@prism>
Date: 16 Mar 88 20:04:00 GMT
References: <235400004@prism>
Lines: 34
Nf-ID: #R:prism:235400004:prism:235400006:000:1906
Nf-From: prism.TMC.COM!john    Mar 16 15:04:00 1988



>>Oh, come on.  A copyright is a reliable indicator that a piece of software is 
>>copyrighted, and that is all you need to know, if you are thinking about 
>>copying it for public distribution.  Otherwise, what does a copyright notice 
>>mean?  

>...If John is implying copyright has something to do with being 
>purchased in a store or by mail order (and not being legally "copyable")...

I stand be my previous statement.  Granted, that some public domain programs
have copyright notices.  I agree.  However, in addition to their copyright
messages, such programs explictly SAY that it is ok to make copies, on a such-
and-such basis, etc. etc.  We know such programs are public domain BECAUSE they
say they are public domain, explicitly.  Any program that JUST has a copyright
message, and says nothing about being ok to distribute on a not-for-profit
basis, (or whatever) is NOT public domain, and only the copyright owner has the
right to make copies of it.  If you are not that copyright owner, it is illegal
for you to copy and publicly distribute it.  Whether or not you can purchase it
in a store, or via mail order has NOTHING to do with it.  What counts is the
copyright message.  Nothing complicated here.  Copyrighted is copyrighted,
period.  This was the case with the MEAN18 program.  

Consider an analogy.  I have a paperback book here.  It's a great novel about
playing golf.  It was written by Jake Doghouse and published by Hardcore,
Chase, and Flintstone, copyright 1986.  Let's see now.  Can I run off a few
hundred copies on my xerox machine and give them away at the next PGA tour, as
a good-will gesture?  How about typing in a couple chapters a week to Usenet,
so as to effectively make thousands of copies?  No problem, right?  WRONG!  

----
JOHN DOWD	john@mirror.TMC.COM
{mit-eddie, ihnp4, harvard!wjh12, cca, cbosgd, seismo}!mirror!john
Mirror Systems	Cambridge, MA  02140