Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!ames!elroy!ucla-cs!usc!pollux.usc.edu!papa
From: papa@pollux.usc.edu (Marco Papa)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: PD Disks
Keywords: PD Disks, Money
Message-ID: <16686@usc.edu>
Date: 21 Apr 89 06:26:42 GMT
References: <38833@bbn.COM> <99856@sun.Eng.Sun.COM> <38944@bbn.COM>
Sender: news@usc.edu
Reply-To: papa@pollux.usc.edu (Marco Papa)
Organization: Felsina Software, Los Angeles, CA
Lines: 33

In article <38944@bbn.COM> dnye@mikey.bbn.com (David Nye) writes:
>   That's just the point, PD is suposed to be non-profit by definition.  These
			   ^^                  ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>companies are trying to make a profit by selling the disks not as a SERVICE to
>the AMIGA community, such as Fred FISH, but for profit.  I can not blame them
>for wanting to make a profit, but PD, by definition, should only FREELY
 					  ^^^^^^^^^^
>distributed, not SOLD for PROFIT at the expence of Joe Programmer who was
>gracious enough to put his program into the public domain.   The companies
>should stay out of the PD distribution game or at least not let there prices
>creep up from $3.00 last year to $8.00 this year.

Dave,

You seem to be really "ignorant" of the meaning of Public Domain. If something
is in the public domain, then BY DEFINITION anybody can do ANYTHING with it.  
This includes eating it, breaking it, selling it, changing it, WHATEVER you
want.  If Joe programmer had decided to put his program into the public domain,
he has also decided to relinquish ALL rights to the program. As such anybody 
can sell that program for any fee that he sees fit, and he does not have 
to make the program available freely in any particular fashion. In fact,
"collections" of public domain programs can legally be copyrighted and
distribution of the collection then restricted.  Fred Fish, for example, could
have copyrighted his Fish Disks collection.  Don't complain is somebody is 
profiting from Public Domain software: it is perfectly legal.

-- Marco Papa 'Doc'


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