Is using paid abandonware piracy?

[weckart]

On a related note, how many of you all have Tiger on CDs?

o/ Both client and server versions. More useful than you would think.

 

[MysticCow]

Now you all see why I post specialized WE CAN'T HELP YOU links...

 

[z970]

On a related note, how many of you all have Tiger on CDs?

I've picked a few copies over the years, including black disks and generic white CD-Rs. I suspect that the CD-Rs may have been made on demand in Apple stores, but don't have anything to back that up.

I also have a retail boxed copy of Tiger Server on CD. It came in the box with my X-serve G5, which shipped with a CD-RW and not a Superdrive(I stuck a PowerBook superdrive in it).

I've got 10.4.0 on disc, but my G5 won't work with it, so I burned a copy of 10.4.2.

Is that being a bad person?

 

[ziggy29]

The one nuance in copyright laws is that if a copyright holder fails to seek enforcement of their copyright even when they know it is being violated, the courts may refuse to uphold them at a later time should the copyright holder selectively decide they want it enforced. So if a company knows very well that copyrighted "abandonware" is being distributed and they choose not to pursue it... they may have lost their right to have their copyright enforced. Again -- MAY. I'm not a lawyer and who can say for sure how any specific court will rule?

This also explains some of the news stories where a large company looks disproportionately heavy-handed against a kid or a grandma or someone who is barely, if at all, infringing on a copyright on a technicality on a very small scale. It may well be that their lawyers don't care about this particular marginal violation, but they also know that if they look the other way when they find out it happens, it makes their copyrights less enforceable in the future.

 

[bunnspecial]

Apple has historically distributed minor OS updates freely to legitimate owners of the software. Anyone who purchased 10.4.0 was perfectly entitled to 10.4.11 and all associated software. Discussing updates in the broader context of this thread is a non-sequitur.

 

[weckart]

Apple has historically distributed minor OS updates freely to legitimate owners of the software. Anyone who purchased 10.4.0 was perfectly entitled to 10.4.11 and all associated software. Discussing updates in the broader context of this thread is a non-sequitur.

Not quite. As long as Apple is the distributor, there is no copyright violation even though there was no charge for interim updates. If you or I took it upon ourselves to distribute updates on behalf of Apple without prior permission then we would be liable for breach of copyright.

Similarly with abandonware, although there is no perceived financial loss, copyright still exists for its full duration under the relevant jurisdiction.

 

[bunnspecial]

Not quite. As long as Apple is the distributor, there is no copyright violation even though there was no charge for interim updates. If you or I took it upon ourselves to distribute updates on behalf of Apple without prior permission then we would be liable for breach of copyright.

Similarly with abandonware, although there is no perceived financial loss, copyright still exists for its full duration under the relevant jurisdiction.

You are, of course, correct.

Let's say-hypothetically-I started making System 6 disks and selling them on Ebay using the floppy images that can be downloaded from Apple. I have the capability to do this, although not everyone does.

I can pretty much guarantee that Apple would be on me pretty quickly. Would I get a nastygram from them? Probably not, but I'd probably just have my listing vanish and then suffer Ebay penalties if I relisted.

 

[weckart]

Probably not, but I'd probably just have my listing vanish and then suffer Ebay penalties if I relisted.

Nah. When I was hunting for a retail pack of System 6, I used to see a seller come up all the time in the searches selling his own diskettes with homebrew printed labels. There is just too much stuff on eBay that the piracy bots don't pick up on.

Ditto Lion to Sierra and Windows 8 and 10 still being sold on generic USB sticks. All shifty stuff hiding in plain sight.

 

[AphoticD]

My thoughts on abandonware:

1. If the abandoned software in question is from an indie developer who is still reachable by email, then just email them and ask how much they want for a license of the old version because you run it on legacy hardware. Most developers, even commercial software mega-forces are happy to keep you running the software on older hardware. They know that one day you WILL upgrade your Mac and will likely want to run the latest version of their app. So, it's just good business to offer unofficial support to the niche user. They may even give out a free serial, or ask just $5 or so for the license.

2. If the developer handed out a free serial, ask them if you can share it with other legacy users. If they give you permission, keep the email as proof that you're not breaking any laws. If the developer didn't give out a free serial, please don't share your license.

3. If the developer doesn't answer in a week or so, go grab a serial number from the usual sources and get on with it. No point losing sleep over it.

4. If the software is totally abandoned and the developer has disappeared off the face of the earth, it makes it impossible to pay them, and they don't expect to ever see any payment for their old software.. See point 3.


There are no royalty collection agencies for software development as there are for music, movies, photography, artwork and books. Unfortunately, if a developer dies, their family will not be receiving royalty checks for their work. This is a shame, however software is typically seen as a product and not a creative work which deserves royalties.

I would argue that software development is pure creativity on many levels, but that's not going to change the perception of the general user.

-AphoticD