Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 (Tek) 9/28/84 based on 9/17/84; site orca.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!mhuxr!mhuxt!houxm!vax135!cornell!uw-beaver!tektronix!orca!andrew From: andrew@orca.UUCP (Andrew Klossner) Newsgroups: net.sources.games Subject: Copyright status of Infocom Zork Message-ID: <1879@orca.UUCP> Date: Sat, 9-Nov-85 21:41:07 EST Article-I.D.: orca.1879 Posted: Sat Nov 9 21:41:07 1985 Date-Received: Mon, 11-Nov-85 06:12:19 EST References: <441@bbnccv.UUCP> <850@ihlpa.UUCP> Organization: Tektronix, Wilsonville OR Lines: 21 >> There has been a sudden rash of questions about the old Zork adventure game >> which has made me itchy to give it another go. >> Does anyone out there have the source available? If there isn't enough need >> to post it to the net (is it even public domain?!?), I'll be glad to send a >> S.A.S.Tape to anyone who would take the time. The binaries won't help me >> much since I'm on a 20 bit machine. >> >> --pat traynor-- >> > To the best of my knowledge Zork, including the original, is not > in the public domain. If the original Zork was public domain, then InfoCom > could not copyright Zork I because everything in Zork I was in the original > Zork game. Even if the facts were as stipulated (some of the features of Zork I are not in original Zork), this reasoning would not be valid. It is perfectly proper to prepare a work which resembles a public domain work and to give your new work copyrighted status. -=- Andrew Klossner (decvax!tektronix!orca!andrew) [UUCP] (orca!andrew.tektronix@csnet-relay) [ARPA]