[Coco] [Color Computer] Re: Need to know if I'm in safe waters here

[Neil Morrison]

FWIW, the copyrights issue is pretty much covered in an old Usenet post:

http://groups.google.com/group/comp.sys.tandy/browse_thread/thread/5cbdc1b62420c3df/9b410254ff539de6?lnk=st&rnum=2

From: Frank Durda IV
Subject: Re: Why Did Tandy stop making computers
Newsgroups: comp.sys.tandy
Date: 1999/02/13

...
Therefore, AST Mark II or Samsung technically do own these Tandy items but
could probably never prove such ownership or even knowledge of ownership in
any court.   At last check, you have to know it exists and it is yours to be
able to claim something is yours.   You can't draw a big circle and claim
everything inside the circle is yours.  USL vs BSDI and UC proved that
argument was very flawed.

AST Mark II (or Samsung) would have to spend way too much money determining
who actually owned a given ball to sue anybody over it.
...

http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/TRS-80/files/Tandy_Rights

Note: A FEW people own or claim to own particular items - like the Zork 
series or Scott Adams games. Apart from those most everything is abandioned 
otr the rights have been lost so no problem.

Neil

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "briza" <bpa65117 at bigpond.net.au>

> Hi Fellow Coconuts.
>
> I have been a Coco user since X-Mas 86. I need to know is what you Guys & 
> Gals think of my Coco Games Software DVD set. I intend making up.
> On this DVD set will be nearly every game ever Done on the Coco computers. 
> Excluding Games that are still being marketed by Authors, Namely Nick 
> Marentas and John Strong. But the DVD set will have in it Games and Docs. 
> But not all games will have the Docs. As I have long lost them.
> What I need to know is how you fellow coconuts feel about it. I have 
> already left a post in Roger's website stating my intentions for doing 
> this DVD set.
> So far All I have recieved is a Thumbs up to the idea. It seems a lot of 
> Coconuts would love to see this idea come to life. But As of late I have 
> been having second thoughts after reading all the crap dealing with Hex 
> Star and his preservation website. I'm worried that this set will end up 
> being copied and sold on Ebay or put on a website.
> This DVD set has takened me 20 odd years of software collecting to get to 
> this stage. Like Ira I would be devastated If my hard work was to be used 
> for profit on ebay or website. So I might not even go through with my 
> Idea.
> But if I do go through with it. 1st I want to get the opinions of the 
> coconuts in here. secondly I will state that I will not be letting this 
> collection be used for purposes it was not made for. This DVD set is for 
> the pleasure of coco game players to enjoy games that have long 
> disappeared or just hard to get thats all.
> And this set will contain games that are copyrighted. But I'm not going to 
> be making money from this adventure. all it will be doing is paying the 
> costs of material and time I spend cleaning it up and marketing. This set 
> is for the pleasure of the community nothing more.
>
> laters
>
> Briza