[Info-vax] VAX VMS going forward

[Arne Vajhøj]

On 7/17/2020 4:05 PM, Terry Kennedy wrote:
> I would expect to see someone pull a rabbit full of non-expiring VAX
> hobbyist licenses out of a hat sometime shortly before or after the
> HP final expiration date. There are a large number of people capable
> of easily doing this. The issue becomes how someone anonymously and
> untraceably makes these available to the community.

And illegal.

> I have no idea if this is still the current status, but it is the
> latest I could find on copyright.gov:
> https://www.copyright.gov/1201/docs/librarian_statement_01.html
> 
> Note exemption number 3: "Computer programs and video games
> distributed in formats that have become obsolete and which require
> the original media or hardware as a condition of access." That may be
> applicable to the current situation.

I don't think that says what you think it says.

It says that it is legal to circumvent technical limitations
if those require obsolete media/hardware.

So if LMF on VAX checked the presence of original VMS 9 track
tape in a tape drive and you legally have a VMS license but your
VAX does not have a 9 track tape, then you may legally
patch LMF to skip that tape check (assuming we can agree
that 9 track tape is obsolete).

VMS does not do anything like that, so it is not relevant.

Arne