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Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!clyde!ima!necntc!cullvax!drw
From: drw@cullvax.UUCP
Newsgroups: comp.os.minix,misc.legal,comp.emacs
Subject: Free software and Usenet articles on CompuServe
Message-ID: <1369@cullvax.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 14-Jul-87 09:52:13 EDT
Article-I.D.: cullvax.1369
Posted: Tue Jul 14 09:52:13 1987
Date-Received: Thu, 16-Jul-87 00:58:09 EDT
Organization: Cullinet Software, Westwood, MA, USA
Lines: 22
Xref: utgpu comp.os.minix:1157 misc.legal:1517 comp.emacs:1300

johnl@well.UUCP (John A. Limpert) writes:
> I find it hard to believe that they
> have any legal right to impose conditions on the redistribution of
> material that is in the public domain or copyrighted by third parties.

Well, since you as user are bound by whatever contract you have with
Compuserve, Compuserve can restrict you in any way you both agree to.
(I.e., check your contract with Compuserve.)  Compuserve can't, of
course, restrict third parties who aren't Compuserve customers, but
then, they aren't downloading from Compuserve, are they?

> Compuserve
> has this strange notion that anything uploaded to their system cannot
> be downloaded and redistributed.

Not strange at all:  Compuserve charges by connect-hour.  If you
download and make copies for 9 friends, Compuserve gets to charge for
only one download.

(And why are these articles posed to comp.emacs?)

Dale