Helpful ReplySoftware Laws on Abandon ware made into shareware/freeware or whatever....

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benrecordingmusic
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2018/02/04 01:49:09 (permalink)

Software Laws on Abandon ware made into shareware/freeware or whatever....

Anyone knows what would happen if Gibson goes belly up - and/or if there is a way to complain to any government business regulations that says if you pay for software update - that is now bankrupt...can the government release the software licensing or make it public domain or ...so to say, loose copyright status? Meaning, Sonar and all cake products go open source or whatever? also, were does piracy play into this - such as the latest release having been cracked doesnt need to talk to registration servers and therefore is it ethical to use it since the software is no longer supported? just wondering....still fuming over what to do about my tracking software as long and they dont screw me on my license
#1
randyman
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Re: Software Laws on Abandon ware made into shareware/freeware or whatever.... 2018/02/04 02:09:05 (permalink)
I'd think you're barking up the wrong tree.  History is riddled with so many of these.  Right off (and I'm old) I can think of a few that were larger than Cake.  dBASE, CP/M, Lotus, Clipper, and so on.  
 
I've enjoyed this product for I guess about 30 years now.  (first purchased it on a 5.25" floppy).. and I'll continue to do so until it stops (i figure that's another 5 years or so).
 
Business is business, software or physical product.  There are no protections when the business ceases business.
 
disclaimer:  I do not use Cakewalk or any other DAW software as my primary (or secondary) income source.

A rack of noisemakers is not a definitive substitute for creativity. (though it does seem to help)

what I spend my lunch time doing:  (don't laugh - its just for fun!) www.soundclick.com/rnewburn

#2
jyoung60
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Re: Software Laws on Abandon ware made into shareware/freeware or whatever.... 2018/02/04 02:21:45 (permalink)
randyman...(first purchased it on a 5.25" floppy).. 




Wow.. been a while since I saw one of those.  You ARE old.  

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#3
pwalpwal
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Re: Software Laws on Abandon ware made into shareware/freeware or whatever.... 2018/02/04 13:36:08 (permalink)
the law has never caught up with software (or other digital commerce) nor do i expect that it ever will - although, imagine that software IPs/codebase could be auctioned off like property when a business goes bust...

just a sec

#4
sharke
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Re: Software Laws on Abandon ware made into shareware/freeware or whatever.... 2018/02/04 18:37:27 (permalink)
Well, you don't own any of the software you buy. You just purchase a license to use it and that's it really. I guess the lesson is that you have to consider the possibility that one day the software you use will cease to function. Nothing's guaranteed forever. 
 
I use a web based scheduling/employee management/billing app for my business, and while it's been an absolute boon for me and made my life 1000% easier, it's always at the back of my mind that one day this company might go out of business and shut their servers down. Horrible if it happens, but unless you have the will and the $$$'s to commission your own software, it's something you should always consider. In fact even if you order bespoke software, you're still relying on someone else to maintain and/or update it, and what if they go bust. Just a fact of life really. Everyone wants some kind of catchall legal protection to guarantee that nothing bad will ever happen to them but it's just not viable. 

James
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MandolinPicker
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Re: Software Laws on Abandon ware made into shareware/freeware or whatever.... 2018/02/04 21:48:58 (permalink)
From the US Copyright Office:
The duration of copyright for works created on or after January 1, 1978: life plus 70 years or 95 or 120 years, depending on the nature of authorship.
 
There is nothing in copyright law about 'abandonware' or other works that are no longer in print. Legally you cannot 'resurrect' abandoned or out of production works, even if you can no longer contact the owner or if the owner is no longer in business.

The Mandolin Picker
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#6
ampfixer
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Re: Software Laws on Abandon ware made into shareware/freeware or whatever.... 2018/02/04 22:22:02 (permalink)
Sonar will NEVER be freeware. The code has value to Gibson and its creditors. I'd bet $50 that Sonar comes back under a new name, managed by a company other than Cakewalk. It won't be soon, but it will happen. For now it's merely another chip on the table.

Regards, John 
 I want to make it clear that I am an Eedjit. I have no direct, or indirect, knowledge of business, the music industry, forum threads or the meaning of life. I know about amps.
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#7
pwalpwal
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Re: Software Laws on Abandon ware made into shareware/freeware or whatever.... 2018/02/05 14:19:22 (permalink)
codebase should count as an asset, like the coffee machine

just a sec

#8
jyoung60
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Re: Software Laws on Abandon ware made into shareware/freeware or whatever.... 2018/02/05 14:21:27 (permalink) ☄ Helpfulby Just Another Bloke 2018/02/05 16:40:26
Madness abounds everywhere!  STOP THE MADNESS!!!

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#9
Just Another Bloke
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Re: Software Laws on Abandon ware made into shareware/freeware or whatever.... 2018/02/05 16:45:14 (permalink)
ampfixer
Sonar will NEVER be freeware. The code has value to Gibson and its creditors. I'd bet $50 that Sonar comes back under a new name, managed by a company other than Cakewalk. It won't be soon, but it will happen. For now it's merely another chip on the table.


Uh oh. A company like MAGIX will scoop it up. Paint the trim. Sell "Platunum" for $299 but never really fix anything unless they hire some of the former devs.
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ampfixer
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Re: Software Laws on Abandon ware made into shareware/freeware or whatever.... 2018/02/05 18:29:56 (permalink)
That's what I'm thinking.

Regards, John 
 I want to make it clear that I am an Eedjit. I have no direct, or indirect, knowledge of business, the music industry, forum threads or the meaning of life. I know about amps.
WIN 10 Pro X64, I7-3770k 16 gigs, ASUS Z77 pro, AMD 7950 3 gig,  Steinberg UR44, A-Pro 500, Sonar Platinum, KRK Rokit 6 
#11
slartabartfast
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Re: Software Laws on Abandon ware made into shareware/freeware or whatever.... 2018/02/05 20:20:20 (permalink)
The closest US copyright law has to abandoned works is covered by the term of art "orphaned works." The problem is that once copyrighted (and by extension once rendered in tangible form) a work can not be reproduced for the duration of copyright. If the author or rights holder cannot be located in order to license the work, it is effectively locked up until the rights expire. For unpublished works this can be 120 years or as long as seventy years after the author's death if that date can be determined. Orphaned works do not fall into the public domain, although there have been a couple of failed legislative attempts to make them available.
 
As sharke notes, this issue is further complicated by the fact that software is frequently licensed, so that restrictions on the use of the software extend beyond the prohibition on unauthorized copying. My understanding is that most Cakewalk software is under a nontransferable license. The only way to get that license is from Cakewalk, since it is forbidden for current license holders to sell or give away their license. 
 
As a consequence, unless the software is explicitly released to the public domain and licensed accordingly by the owners (Cakewalk and subsequent) there would be no legal way to either copy or use it for at least the duration of copyright protection. By then the issue will no doubt be of no interest to those of us posting here.
#12
MandolinPicker
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Re: Software Laws on Abandon ware made into shareware/freeware or whatever.... 2018/02/05 21:53:52 (permalink)
Here is a prime example that was in the tech news just in the past couple of days:
------------------------------------
Over the years video game developer Blizzard Entertainment has published many popular game titles, including World of Warcraft (WoW). First released in 2004, the multiplayer online role-playing game has been a massive success. It holds the record for the most popular MMORPG in history, with over 100 million subscribers. While the current game looks entirely different from its first release, there are many nostalgic gamers who still enjoy the earlier editions. Unfortunately, however, they can’t play them. At least not legally.
 
The only option WoW fans have is to go to unauthorized fan projects which recreate the early gaming experience, such as Light’s Hope....In recent years the project has captured the hearts of tens of thousands of die-hard WoW fans. At the time of writing, the most popular realm has more than 6,000 people playing from all over the world. Blizzard, however, is less excited.
 
[Blizzard] has asked the developer platform GitHub to remove the code repository published by Light’s Hope. Blizzard’s notice targets several SQL databases stating that the layout and structure is nearly identical to the early WoW databases.
 
Blizzard’s takedown notice comes just weeks after several organizations and gaming fans asked the US Copyright Office to make a DMCA circumvention exemption for “abandoned” games, including older versions of popular MMORPGs.
-------------------------------------
Full article at https://torrentfreak.com/blizzard-targets-fan-created-world-of-warcraft-legacy-server-180203/
 

The Mandolin Picker
"Bless your hearts... and all your vital organs" - John Duffy
 
"Got time to breath, got time for music!"- Briscoe Darling, Jr.
 
Windows 8.1, Sonar Platinum (64-bit), AMD FX 6120 Six-Core, 10GB RAM
#13
jyoung60
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Re: Software Laws on Abandon ware made into shareware/freeware or whatever.... 2018/02/05 22:52:30 (permalink)
MandolinPicker
Here is a prime example that was in the tech news just in the past couple of days:
------------------------------------
Over the years video game developer Blizzard Entertainment has published many popular game titles, including World of Warcraft (WoW). First released in 2004, the multiplayer online role-playing game has been a massive success. It holds the record for the most popular MMORPG in history, with over 100 million subscribers. While the current game looks entirely different from its first release, there are many nostalgic gamers who still enjoy the earlier editions. Unfortunately, however, they can’t play them. At least not legally.
 
The only option WoW fans have is to go to unauthorized fan projects which recreate the early gaming experience, such as Light’s Hope....In recent years the project has captured the hearts of tens of thousands of die-hard WoW fans. At the time of writing, the most popular realm has more than 6,000 people playing from all over the world. Blizzard, however, is less excited.
 
[Blizzard] has asked the developer platform GitHub to remove the code repository published by Light’s Hope. Blizzard’s notice targets several SQL databases stating that the layout and structure is nearly identical to the early WoW databases.
 
Blizzard’s takedown notice comes just weeks after several organizations and gaming fans asked the US Copyright Office to make a DMCA circumvention exemption for “abandoned” games, including older versions of popular MMORPGs.
-------------------------------------
Full article at https://torrentfreak.com/blizzard-targets-fan-created-world-of-warcraft-legacy-server-180203/
 




Well well well!  I haven't kept track of WoW since 2006 when I stopped designing Warcraft sites (I was a Web developer for a few major companies back then).  It's interesting to know how things developed after I stopped developing.

DAW: Cakewalk by Bandlab (latest version) - x64
VST: Roland Sound Canvas VA
Hardware: Roland MC50mkII Sequencer; Yamaha DGX-660 keyboard; Steinberg UR-44 Interface
OS: Windows 10 Home 64-bit
#14
pwalpwal
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Re: Software Laws on Abandon ware made into shareware/freeware or whatever.... 2018/02/06 17:13:07 (permalink)
...several SQL databases stating that the layout and structure is nearly identical to...

 
blizzard need to check more sql databases...

just a sec

#15
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