Privacy and Legal StatementAbout Software Copyrights: By Me Bob "ace-tomatoes"
Here is something I wrote 10 years ago for Florida OnLine BBS Still works for me!
What everybody does....and nobody knows......Just read it all....
These are the views of Me the (System Operator) and FirstServer!
http://www.Firstserver.cc - http://www.Newnan.cc - http://www.ace-tomatoes.com
What is a copyright?
The definition given by
Webster's New World Dictionary is some fifty words long and contains several
words that pertain specifically to copyright law. The legal definition
is even more bewildering. But in the simplest sense, copyright means exactly
what the two words it is composed of mean, by themselves; "the right to
copy".
So what does "right" mean.
Webster isn't quite so obtuse with this one. It is defined as "a
privilege that belongs to a person by law or tradition". That is fairly
straightforward. For example, you have the privilege to speak freely in
this country and that privilege is protected by the Bill of Rights.
How about "copy". Back again
to Webster's, which says "a thing made just like another; a full reproduction;
a duplicate". This is pretty straightforward also. In the case of printed
matter, if you run something through the Xerox machine, you have
made a copy of it. On your Mac, if you select an icon and then choose "Duplicate"
from the File menu, or drag it to another disk drive, you have made a copy
of that file. (In the case of Duplicate, it even tells you "Copy of")
So if you put these two
definitions of "copy" and "right" together you get: "the privilege
to duplicate, which is protected by law.
Now the purpose of the copyright law is to protect that "privilege to duplicate". For example; if you have a great idea nobody else has thought of that will make you a millionaire by writing a book about it, nobody else can buy one of your books and a Xerox machine, make copies of your book, sell a half million dollars worth, and leave you with only a measly half million. Or if you are a musician and you write the next triple-platinum song, no one can go out and buy one of your tapes and a cassette tape recorder, and start selling copies of your song, without getting an okay from you (and hopefully a very lucrative contract). So in it's simplest and most fundamental sense, copyright law says that no one can make copies of your creations without your permission. In other words, you are entitled to the fruits of your labor.
Now what does this have to do with computers.
As far as computer
software is concerned there are only two types of software. Copyrighted
and non-copyrighted. Non-copyrighted software is called "freeware" or "public
domain" and you can make as many copies of it as you want without having
to ask anybody. The copyright, in essence, belongs to the public.
With copyrighted software
however, the copyright belongs to a person or company, who is the only
one who can legally copy, or grant permission to copy, the software. Copyrighted
software is generally considered to be divided into two types.
"Commercial" software
is what you would buy in a computer store such as Egghead or Babbages or
through mail-order houses such as MacConnection. Usually, with this type
of software, you are not allowed to make any copies, except to make
one copy for back-up purposes. (You always back up your data and programs,
right?) If you install it on your hard drive, the original disk becomes
your back-up copy.
"Shareware" is
software which the copyright holder gives blanket permission for anyone
to make copies of, but only for the purpose of evaluation. This means you
can make a copy of it at a friends house, take it home and use it to see
if you like it and you only pay for it if you decide to continue using
it! This type of software distribution is based on the "honor" system
and the only thing preventing you from not paying for it at all is your
own personal integrity.
Now, there is an often
misunderstood term used in connection with software copyrights, and that
is the term "license" or "licensing agreement". When you buy a commercial
software program, the license is usually at least a full page of legalese
set in very small print. With shareware it is usually a full screen of
text that displays the first thing when you launch the program. Almost
no one ever reads these licenses but they should. The license states what
you can and cannot do with that software.
The thing that you
may not know, but which is probably the most important point when discussing
software copyrights is that when you go down to the computer store and
plunk down $500 for the latest version of Super-Do-All Integrated Software,
believe it or not but YOU DON'T OWN THE SOFTWARE! All you have done
is purchased the right to use it. That may seem absurd at first but it's
a fact. Actually, looking at it from the viewpoint of it being "just like
a book", it's easy to see. When you buy a book , you own the paper, the
binding, the glue and the ink but you don't own the story contained in
the book. That belongs to the copyright holder. The same is true with the
software program. You own the disks, the box and the wrapper, but you don't
own the "story" contained in the program or the information in the manuals.
So here's the bottom
line: If, by copying a piece of software, you gain something,
or the copyright holder loses something, either directly or indirectly,
monetarily or any other way, then it's a virtual certainty that you've
violated the copyright. (The only exception to this is in the case of making
a copy for back-up purposes, which is covered in the license. You obviously
gain by having a back-up of the software, but note that the license always
says something like "you can make a copy for back-up purposes" not
"you can make a back-up copy", meaning you cannot use your back-up
copy for anything except maintaining the security of your investment in
the software.)
Now let's look at some examples of this:
1) What if you have a computer at home and a computer
at the office and you want to run a program on both machines? Unless
the license specifically provides for this, you cannot legally install
it on both machines because that would be making an unlicensed copy for
something other than back-up purposes. Unfortunately, this scenario is
probably the most widespread violation of copyright law in the entire computer
industry. Almost as unfortunate is the fact that the software companies
do not usually provide for this in their licensing agreements, although
you may be able to negotiate some sort of agreement with the publisher
to cover this. But in lieu of that, to remain legal, you must either buy
another copy of the program or install it and erase it each time you want
to run it on a different computer. Some people try to rationalize this
by saying that the copy at home is a "back-up". But this still violates
the "back-up purposes" part of the license.
2) Supposing two or more people "go in together"
on a software package by splitting the cost. This is perfectly okay as
long as the software is only run on one machine. But if each person
gets a copy to use on his own computer the truth of the matter is that
the person who actually purchases the software gets a fully licensed program
very cheaply and is selling stolen property to all the others.
3) How about if you have version 1.0 of a program
and buy an upgrade to version 2.0. What can you do with version 1.0?
Well you could erase it and reuse the disks, you could put it in
a safe place in case you ever need it later, (highly recommended), but
you can't sell it or even give it away. If, instead you think of it as
a separate program, you think of it as the same program with some additions,
which
actually it is. If you sold version 1.0 and kept version 2.0, you
would in essence be selling or giving away a copy of part of version 2.0.
And licenses always have some phrase like "in whole or in part" included
somewhere in them.
Finally, a word
about the ethics of software copying from the viewpoint of one who makes
his living in the Computer & Software industry. A single quality software
package takes months to create and thousands of man-hours. This is of the
same order and magnitude as building an average house, in terms of time
and labor . Yet I have known people who would copy that software
and give it away, but demand that the fifty-cent disk that it was
copied onto be returned! I also have heard many people complain about
the high price of software. I agree that software prices are, in general,
inordinately high. Part of the reason for that is the same as why
prices in retail stores are higher than need be. Shrinkage! The people
who actually pay for the items are paying not only for the items they take
home, but for the items that others have taken home without paying. Those
who pay for software are also paying for the software others are using
without having paid for it. If someone copies software, they obviously
think it is valuable in some way, otherwise why would they copy it?
So in closing I would like to ask this question:
What would you call a person who takes something that doesn't belong
to him without paying for it? The bottom line is
simple, you can say anything you want, you can justify it some how, but
it is Black & White, there are no Gray areas here, if you are using
software you have not payed for you are a Thief!
If you are still
thinking you can get away with it, you are probably right, no one mite
ever know, but: He comes in an hour you do not know and He
is the only one that matters!
Yes, I do believe in paying for Donating to the cause of Freeware / Shareware for a few reasons. I DO!1) Someone worked long and hard for something
for you to use or is even making you money or making you more productive
at what you do, that in it self makes you more money.2) The person that puts it out still believes
in the good nature of people and its better to put it out there and let you
deside if it is worth paying for.3) It is "not" a person or companies duty to
make you cool software for free so you can profit from it, Rent still needs
to be paid food still needs to be bought, and that don't happen spending
to much time writing you cool software for free.4)I put it out there thinking someone would donate
. Spent all that time and no one did, Well Ver. 2 will never be seen because
Ver. 1 didn't pay for itself. You will never get an update or bug fix for
that cool program!Small business is worth supporting, its cool or you wouldn't be using it right!
I have seen a lot of really cool programs disappear.....there
was a program called Thunder 7 for Macintosh, done by Even Gross, an interactive
spell checker GONE last update Ver. 1.5.3 (1993) I did pay for it, I guess
no one else did, I am glad he did the code right, I am still using it today
and still works under OS 9.1DISCLAIMERS & AGREEMENT:
By Further Log on you agree not to up-load any payed for programs to this FTP Site, also programs that you know to have bugs, viruses, or just plain don’t work, Copyrighted Code or graphics and or proprietary software that someone worked long and hard to make.
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