Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!looking!brad From: brad@looking.UUCP (Brad Templeton) Newsgroups: comp.binaries.ibm.pc.d Subject: Re: PK361.EXE Message-ID: <1942@looking.UUCP> Date: 16 Aug 88 18:41:36 GMT References: <3656@bsu-cs.UUCP> Reply-To: brad@looking.UUCP (Brad Templeton) Organization: Looking Glass Software Ltd. Lines: 20 I don't think anybody is arguing for the copyright of file formats, and in particular the reading of them. I don't think anybody has considered suit over a program that simply reads a format. In fact, most people publish their formats to that end. What people might properly object to is other people writing out files according to somebody's format, but doing it wrong and thus compromising the standard. Which does not mean that people should be unable to extend standards, but that it should be clear that this is what is being done. On the other hand, anybody who wants to define a standard should leave room for a way to define extensions. If they don't they're asking for it, both if somebody else extends and if they extend. So it's not clear cut with SEA. (Unless ARC files do have a version number in them and PKWARE ignored this.) -- Brad Templeton, Looking Glass Software Ltd. -- Waterloo, Ontario 519/884-7473