[Coco] The dire condition of software documentation..

[Michael Miller]

I agree with you 100% on all points. All too often in discussions of copyright, people get stuck in the weeds without taking into account what the actual PURPOSE of copyright is supposed to be.

-----Original Message-----
From: Coco <coco-bounces at maltedmedia.com> On Behalf Of Alex Evans
Sent: Monday, August 12, 2019 10:52 AM
To: CoCoList for Color Computer Enthusiasts <coco at maltedmedia.com>
Subject: Re: [Coco] The dire condition of software documentation..

You could have inherited those rights and not know about it. You could buy an entity which holds copyrights that are not well documented and not know about it. There are lots of ways to end up holding a copyright where you don't realize you own the copyright. Legally, yes.
Ethically, I'm sorry, but the intent of copyright law based in the English tradition is to encourage the creation of intellectual property while simultaneously trying to give the widest availability for use. While legally wrong any use which does not diminish the effectiveness of copyright in encouraging the creation of intellectual property is *not* unethical. Violating the copyrights of someone who is using those rights intentionally or not in a manner that is in opposition to the intent in granting those rights is not unethical.

And again, figuring out *who* holds the rights can be damned difficult and it can be unclear who owns the copyright.

Why has copyright always been such a touchstone on this list? We all already know that if the issue of copyright comes up, it is likely to degenerate into a flame war and here I am contributing to that possibility.

On Mon, Aug 12, 2019 at 10:30 AM Bill Gunshannon <bill.gunshannon at hotmail.com> wrote:
>
> On 8/12/19 9:26 AM, Alex Evans wrote:
> > The question of who holds the copyright can be vague or at least 
> > very difficult to figure out.
>
> If you didn't create it or buy the rights you do not hold the 
> Copyright.  Somebody does and those rights should be respected both 
> legally and ethically.
>
> bill
>
>
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> Coco mailing list
> Coco at maltedmedia.com
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