Re: Copyrights on source code
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Posted by M. Arthur Auslander on April 30, 2001 at 03:48:08:
In Reply to: Copyrights on source code posted by Beatrice on April 28, 2001 at 17:29:05:
: A major website for developers ( http://www.planet-source-code.com) is selling source code posted to its site on CD. The code is selling for $100.00
: The site was developed so that programmers etc could freely post their source code for others to use. The authors have not given up their copyrights, but have allowed the site to post it for others to download. No authors were contacted as to whether they wanted to give permission to have it sold on CD.
: The site owner states that his Terms of service state that he has a right to distribute the source code any way he wants, and by posting your source code to this site you are agreeing to this.
: Most of the developers are up in arms about this and say that "distribute" does not mean "sell", and their copyrights have been violated. They are talking class action lawsuit against the site owner.
: The site has an e-mail list, and just about everyone on the list that is aware of what the site owner is doing, is very opposed to the selling of their source code on CD.
: Some persons supposedly are trying to spider the site and download the source code"According to the owner of the site" and he is telling them that they are disrupting his server and that they can go to jail for this. Seems that the site owner is trying to use scare tactics to get the developers to back off.
: Can the site owner "sell" the source code. Is distribute the same as "Sell"??? Dear Beatrice, It looks like there is something, "Rotten in Denmark". A paragraph or two, here won't solve it. Give us a call so we can better understand and deal with it. Copyrights must be registered to be enforced. M. Arthur Auslander
Auslander & Thomas-Intellectual Property Law Since 1909
505 Eighth Avenue, New York, NY 10018
212-594-6900, fax 212-244-0028, aus@auslander.com
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