Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!ncar!boulder!ccncsu!handel.cs.colostate.edu!conca
From: conca@handel.cs.colostate.edu (michael vincen conca)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Copyrights
Message-ID: <5229@ccncsu.ColoState.EDU>
Date: 12 Mar 90 23:14:40 GMT
Sender: news@ccncsu.ColoState.EDU
Reply-To: conca@handel.cs.colostate.edu (michael vincen conca)
Organization: Colorado State University
Lines: 24


A while back there was a discussion about copyrights and what happens when
a company goes out of business.

I talked to one of the Political Science profs here, and this is what he said:

Basically, a copyright is treated just like property.  It can be bought, sold,
inherited, traded, etc.  When a company goes under, the copyright is considered
part of the assests.  If the company was leasing the copyright from the 
author, the author still holds the copyright.  If the company owns the copy-
right and goes bankrupt, the bank takes control of the copyright.  After
this, it depends a lot on the bank and some state laws.  Anyway, no matter
what the case, the copyright is STILL IN EFFECT.  Only on rare occassions will
a piece of software become public domain after the company that produced it
folds.

Unfortunately, I forgot to ask him how long the copyright is in effect...

						 -Mike

-=*=--=*=--=*=--=*=--=*=--=*=--=*=--=*=--=*=--=*=--=*=--=*=--=*=--=*=--=*=-
Mike Conca, Computer Science Dept.   *  conca@handel.cs.colostate.edu
Colorado State University            *  conca@129.82.102.32                   
             "Computer Science - It Really Isn't"