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)
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Organization: The MITRE Corporation, McLean, VA.
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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  You can't give the outdated copies to anyone else unless you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.