Re: TWM Virtual Desktop

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Article #75280

#75280

From: Joe Smith
Date: Tue, 14 Aug 1990 16:59

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>  Another case where a company just inquired about the possibility of a
> copy and all the alarmists on the net started crying about their rights
> being violated.

I agree, however the incident did make the point that 'free' software
is at the mercy of commercial interests.  How far would Imperial
College have gone to protect TWM if Solbourne had actually filed suit?
How long would TWM have been in legal limbo while the courts
straightened it out?  Do I trust a company to refrain from filing suit
without merit?  Do I trust a judge to decide this kind of dispute?

We've actually lost software written and distributed freely by
colleagues which was later 'bought' by a company.  The company sent
out a notice that they owned all the rights and any copies were to be
destroyed.  Even if their claim is bogus, I don't have time to get
involved, and the University isn't interested.  What counterproductive
nonsense!

It does seem clear to me that these issues need a clear statement not
defined by individual lawsuits.  My money's going to the LPF.

<Joe
--
 Joe Smith
 University of Pennsylvania                    jes@mbio.med.upenn.edu
 Dept. of Biochemistry and Biophysics          (215) 898-8348
 Philadelphia, PA 19104-6059

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From: jes@mbio.med.upenn.edu (Joe Smith)
Newsgroups: gnu.misc.discuss
Subject: Re: TWM Virtual Desktop
Message-ID: <JES.90Aug14125951@mbio.med.upenn.edu>
Date: 14 Aug 90 16:59:51 GMT
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Posted: Tue Aug 14 17:59:51 1990
In-reply-to: davidsen@antarctica.crd.GE.COM's message of 14 Aug 90 13:40:05 GMT

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