Xref: utzoo comp.sys.mac:29289 comp.sys.ibm.pc:26819 comp.windows.ms:406 comp.sys.apple:11623 Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!iuvax!bsu-cs!mithomas From: mithomas@bsu-cs.UUCP (Michael Thomas Niehaus) Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac,comp.sys.ibm.pc,bsu.general,comp.windows.ms,comp.sys.apple Subject: BIG loophole allows piracy... Keywords: software Constitution Supreme Court Message-ID: <6408@bsu-cs.UUCP> Date: 30 Mar 89 19:52:00 GMT Organization: CS Dept, Ball St U, Muncie, Indiana Lines: 26 In this week's ComputerWorld, and interesting article made the front page. Because of a unintended consequence of the 11th Amendment of the Constitution, the Supreme Court has ruled that state agencies and universities are not bound to honor copyrights -- in other words, they can copy at will. (This is not an April Fools' joke...) This decision resulted because of a case by an engineering software company against UCLA, who was accused of copying 3 copies of the software and 10 copies of the manuals for each copy that they purchased. Needless to say, the software industry is very concerned about this development. They are currently lobbying the Congress to pass a law closing this loophole. Discussing is slated to begin on May 17. Currently passage of the proposed bill is expected. Now does this mean that any copying done before then is exempt, since after-the- fact legislation is frowned upon? If this is the case, there will be much copying until May 17... -Michael -- Michael Niehaus UUCP: !{iuvax,pur-ee}!bsu-cs!mithomas Apple Student Rep ARPA: mithomas@bsu-cs.bsu.edu Ball State University AppleLink: ST0374 (from UUCP: st0374@applelink.apple.com)