[Coco] ROM Copyrights... copyrights in general...

[Francis Swygert]

I have authored a few books, and did some copyright research a few years back. Here are some general facts:
1. It's up to the copyright holder to pursue any damages/infringement issues
2. In order to win damages, there has to be proof that the copyright infringement has damaged the holder in some way... lost sales, etc.
3. Most companies will not spend the effort or money to fight a copyright infringement of something old and not currently being marketed for the reasons above. They will typically send a "cease and desist" letter, and you should stop. That's about it. It is possible for them to take further legal action, but they have to prove damages in some way. 

4. There are companies, such as Microsoft, that will defend everything. Even they will send a "cease and desist" letter first. Something as old an no longer used as Disc BASIC (DECB -- it was made by Micro-Soft!) they will hardly bat an eye at though, or even MS-DOS. They will defend Windows code, as some snippets of code are still being used from Windows 3.x, IIRC (might not be since the demise of XP though). 

5. The bottom line is unless you're distributing for a profit, there isn't really much anyone would (or in most cases could) do about the old ROMs. Copyrights were established to protect authors, but were never intended to be forever. Companies with long standing profitable items like Disney (Mickey Mouse, etc.) have pushed to make copyrights be automatic and basically forever. I personally have no issue with there being a way to renew, or even have an automatic renewal, as long as something is actually being used. But the relatively new "lifetime of author +70 years" (went into effect Jan 1, 1978 -- How Long Does Copyright Protection Last? (FAQ) | U.S. Copyright Office) is really absurd. Since Disney Corporation is the registered copyright holder of all their stuff, the copyright lasts 70 years after the corporation dies. But then who would sue, since there would be no longer be an entity... Well, that's not likely to happen any time soon!  But with Tandy all but gone now...

6. On another note -- if the author of any CoCo items on a website asked that their work be taken down, I'd certainly do it out of respect, and I'd certainly respect any kind of "cease and desist" letter, even if the likelihood of being sued was nil. It becomes a respect issue then. 
  
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How Long Does Copyright Protection Last? (FAQ) | U.S. Copyright Office
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 Frank Swygert
 Fix-It-Frank Handyman Service
 803-604-6548