🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <4249@mit-eddie.MIT.EDU> djd@eddie.MIT.EDU (Dave D'Souza writes:
> ... a software rental company in Canada.
> They rent MacIntosh software at $15 a disk, Apple // software at $8 ...
> ... ask the buyer to erase the floppies after 21 days.
> ...  seems to have all
>the latest software including all Microsoft and Lotus products.  Also,
>they are RENTING public domain software such as Red Ryder and a disk
>with Finder 4.1 (Apple, are you there?), Megaroids, and BinHex on it.
>
>Now, for the obvious question: Isn't this blatantly illegal or do
>Canadians have f***ed-up laws where things like this can be done???
>The company: 	The Value Club 	#301 - 1084 Homer St. Vancouver

	This type of scam certainly is not new or unique to Canada.  If
you look in the back of most popular (U.S.) computer mags, you'll find ads
for "software appraisal clubs" that work just like the company you describe.
As for the lagality of such things, it certainly can't be illegal to rent,
or even sell, "PUBLIC DOMAIN" stuff.  As for shareware, the issue is probably
highly debatable by either Canadian or US law, and must depend on the
particular author's constraints on the program in question.

	There used to be a company like the one you describe in Montreal called 
"Crazy Teddies" (or something like that).  When it got too successful (and it
did get very busy for a while) somebody took action.  I'm not sure exactly
what happened, but they must have gotten pretty badly sued because they
changed from a *very* busy place that "rented" almost anything (including
photocopied documentation) to a nearly empty place that seems to provide 
almost nothing.  (BTW, I never shopped shopped there but have dealt with 
people who did, hence my info in second hand.)

	Finally, as for Canada having "f***ed-up laws" re. software
protection, you may be right.  The laws governing intellectual property
up here are rather obsolete and are currently under revision.  On the
ther hand, I thought that software protection laws were pretty vague and
in flux in many countries (including in the US).

	Greg Dudek

P.S.  Red Ryder isn't public domain, it's shareware.
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