Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/18/84; site brl-tgr.ARPA Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!allegra!bellcore!decvax!genrad!teddy!panda!talcott!harvard!seismo!brl-tgr!tgr!vortex!lauren@RAND-UNIX.ARPA From: lauren@RAND-UNIX.ARPA Newsgroups: net.unix-wizards Subject: Re: AT&T and Unix Message-ID: <7372@brl-tgr.ARPA> Date: Tue, 15-Jan-85 16:55:52 EST Article-I.D.: brl-tgr.7372 Posted: Tue Jan 15 16:55:52 1985 Date-Received: Sun, 20-Jan-85 05:50:32 EST Sender: news@brl-tgr.ARPA Organization: Ballistic Research Lab Lines: 26 Actually, I sent the department store analogy message just to you, not to the list. Though this message is going to both, since you saw fit to forward my private mail to you to the entire list. I think what really irks you is that it is possible to get the source at all! If the source were unavailable at ANY price to ANYONE, then you might complain less. Maybe. Note that source for many microcomputer programs (including the extremely popular mass-market ones, many of which have presumably brought their authors far more income that AT&T has made from Unix to date!) is often completely unavailable. And that decision is the right of the software author. People selling and distributing software have the clear right to determine the distribution means and prices for their products. The fact that the product is easily copied does not change anything at all -- the protection of intellectual property rights is firmly grounded in law (though obviously not accepted by you). You seem to be setting yourself up as judge and jury. You sit around deciding that it's "OK" to rip off an expensive piece of software, but you draw the line at a $50 package. There are people sitting around in prisons who have used similar reasoning in other (not so different) contexts. Yes, I consider what you seem to be advocating to be common theft, and nothing less. --Lauren--