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

[chris]

On 12/09/21 13:23, Bill Gunshannon wrote:
> On 12/9/21 5:33 AM, chris wrote:
>> On 12/09/21 09:14, gah4 wrote:
>>> On Wednesday, December 8, 2021 at 9:40:07 PM UTC-8, Joerg Hoppe wrote:
>>>> 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?
>>>> What is the license status for this old stuff (around 1985), VSI ?
>>>
>>> Seems like the same question as for all the stuff on bitsavers.
>>>
>>> You could send it to them, and leave it up to them to figure out making
>>> it publicly available.
>>>
>>> As well as I know, bitsavers hasn't been sued for anything on the site.
>>
>> It may be interesting to many for historical reasons and the sources
>> were never enough to build a working systems, so there is perhaps some
>> fair use argument to publish.
>>
>> May not be strictly correct, but you could anonymously upload to a site
>> that publishes anyway. There are plenty of sites around like that and
>> sometime you just have to do what needs to be done...
>>
>
> See my previous comment in this thread. :-)
>
> bill
>
>

If you are a developer, you should try to walk the walk in terms
of ethics and try to do the right thing. In the real world though,
people will do whatever needs to be done to find a solution if there
seems to b an insurmountable obstacle.

The other point is, do the original owners really care enough, or
even at all, when so much licensed software is out there and is
obsolete and no longer sold ?. Similar case here, where I was trying
find detail on the write boot block code for early SunOs for historical
purposes. Found the complete source cd online and was able to complete
the task. No profit involved, other than keeping some old machines
alive.

Ethical dilemmas everywhere in life and we all have to make our
own choices...

Chris