Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!wuarchive!udel!gatech!bloom-beacon!spdcc!merk!alliant!linus!mbunix!jcmorris From: jcmorris@mbunix.mitre.org (Joseph C. Morris) Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc Subject: Re: Legality of "old" software disposition Keywords: Old versions, sharing software Message-ID: <72347@linus.UUCP> Date: 26 Sep 89 21:07:12 GMT References: <3772@blake.acs.washington.edu> Sender: news@linus.UUCP Reply-To: jcmorris@mbunix (Morris) Distribution: na Organization: The MITRE Corporation, McLean, VA. Lines: 21 In a recent article djo7613@blake.acs.washington.edu (Dick O'Connor) writes: > > What does >Microsoft want QuickBasic 4 owners to do with QB Version 3? Can IT be >given away freely? Or Central Point, whose PC Tools Version 5 >completely obviates the need to keep old versions like 4.3 around...would >they prefer users hang onto them, or can THEY be recycled, again >without compensation? In a word, NO. When you made your original purchase, you acquired the physical media (disks and documentation) along with the license to possess and use the program. Purchasing a subsequent upgrade doesn't buy you a new license, only new media and the right to use it under your original license. In other words, all copies you've received are covered under the same license, which probably says you can transfer all (but not less than all) material in your possession to a third party. You can't give the outdated copies to anyone else unless you give them your current copies as well. Some vendors (such as Microsoft) have recently begun to include an insert in their upgrade packages which say much the same as I have here.