[Coco] [Color Computer] Re: mikeyterm

shadow at shadowgard.com shadow at shadowgard.com
Thu Sep 18 00:01:16 EDT 2008


On 17 Sep 2008 at 22:08, Al Hartman wrote:

> Copyright doesn't expire that quickly.

Yep. In fact given when the term was changed, *no* personal computer 
software copyright is going to expire (in the US at least) before 
2025. Might even be 2050.

Term is either 50 or 75 years for copyright not owned by the author 
(I forget which). Thus nothing written after 1975 would expire before 
the years I gave above.

For stuff where the author has the copyrigt, the clock doesn't start 
until the author *dies*.

so unless the author has placed the software in the public domain, 
you are violatimng copyright unless you have his permission.

Oh yeah, if someone *other* than the author say it's in the public 
domain and you distribute it, relying on their advice and they are 
wrong, you are still legally liable for the infringement.


--
Leonard Erickson (aka shadow)
shadow at shadowgard dot com





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