[Info-vax] Licenses on VAX/VMS 4.0/4.1 source code listing scans

[Bill Gunshannon]

On 12/9/21 2:13 AM, Phillip Helbig (undress to reply) wrote:
> In article <sos4b8$jrb$1 at inf1.informatik.uni-stuttgart.de>, Joerg Hoppe
> <j_hoppe at t-online.de> writes:
> 
>> I digitized a pack of VAX/VMS 4.0/4.1 source code listings
>> AH-BT13A-SE and AH-EF71A-SE, from micro fiche to PDF.
>> Question is now: can I publish to the community or individuals?
> 
> IANAL, but very probably not.  Look at the terms and conditions which
> came with the listings.

I expect he got them somewhere  like eBay and they didn't come with
a license or anything beyond the listings themselves.

> 
>> What is the license status for this old stuff (around 1985), VSI ?
> 
> VSI has nothing to do with it, because they have no legal rights to VAX
> stuff.

I don't think that is true.  I believe VSI has license to all of it
and only made the (proper?) business decision to not get involved with
anything VAX.

> 
> Legally, there is no such thing as abandonware.

That is, actually, quite true although many people (including some
here, based on comments I have seen) refuse to accept it.

> 
> Some of that VAX source code still lives on in VSI VMS, so in that sense
> VSI might be interested in your potential activities.  I don't know if
> they can legally prevent you from publishing them, but if you want to
> help "the community" it would be a good idea not to annoy the current
> owner of VMS.
> 

They are probably of very limited value but release of them would
undoubtedly violate someone's IP rights.

bill