Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!cornell!uw-beaver!milton!blake!djo7613
From: djo7613@blake.acs.washington.edu (Dick O'Connor)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc
Subject: Legality of "old" software disposition
Keywords: Old versions, sharing software
Message-ID: <3772@blake.acs.washington.edu>
Date: 25 Sep 89 15:50:06 GMT
Distribution: na
Organization: Univ of Washington, Seattle
Lines: 34

I generally keep up on legal issues in the software world, as best I can.
But a user came up with a query the other day that I couldn't give a
clear answer to, so I petition for a dose of net.wisdom to help me advise
this user.

She purchased a copy of First Publisher, Version 2 I guess, some time back.
Then she upgraded to the next number (2.1?), and was sent a new manual and
an entire new disk set...in other words, "the works."  The upgrade price was not
equivalent to the purchase price, but was more like $30 as I recall.

Her question was, "Can I give my copy of 2.0 to my folks, for playing
around on their home PC?"  This stumped me a bit from the purely legal
standpoint (I *know* it happens a lot in "reality").  If you actually
"owned" the software, the answer would be YES, but since you only license it,
probably the answer is NO.  But does that restriction bar you from RESALE
only, or from all possible "redistribution," including charitable donations?
(One might argue that donation to parental users might fall in that
category!)  Does "simultaneous use" come into play here at all?

The more I thought about it, the more questions came up.  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?

Perhaps there's a general principle here; perhaps it's a variable,
depending on the company involved.  What do YOU consultants and
advisors say when YOUR people ask you?

"Moby" Dick O'Connor                            ** DISCLAIMER: It would
Washington Department of Fisheries              ** surprise me if the
Olympia, Washington  98504                      ** rest of the Department
Internet Mail: djo7613@blake.u.washington.edu   ** agreed with any of this!