SEIV is being Pirated

[Magnum357]

Replying to a comment stated below, I think I read once that copyrights only Last 10 years (50 years for a patent) then they become public domian. I could be wrong on this but theoretically, if ya really wanted to, in 2010 we could make copies of SE4 and give them to people. Although I probably wouldn't just for moral reasons.

I looked this up once because a software company named "Sierra" (you might know it, makes that game called Halflife) had two REALLY awsome sports games (Football Pro and Baseball Pro). They dicontinued their sports game about a couple of years ago and don't plan to make any more sporst games (unless you like bullriding and fishing). Anyway, I read some laws in the government that talked about copyrights and Patents. It stated that copyrights had a certain time span then they become public domain. Patents are a little different. Their hard to get established, but if someone uses your patent and you can prove they did it, you can really nail them big time! Patents are easier to get applied to things, but have limitations.

Anyway, I just wanted to point out that theoretically (assuming I'm correct) we could all make copies of SE4 by 2010 and give them to people. As long as we don't sell them for a profit, it is perfectly legal.

[Phoenix-D]

Last I checked copywrites were for *50* years. More if some of the big corps get their way.

Phoenix-D

[Magnum357]

Are you sure? I thought I read it was only 10 years, but again I could be wrong on that. Maybe its only 10 years for certain copyrights perhaps. Hmmm... I should do a little researching here.

[Baron Munchausen]

It's even worse than that, actually. Copyright has become a virtual 'entitlement' for authors and artists families. It's now been extended to 50 years after the death of the author. The copyright on Sherlock Holmes only ran out a few years ago, for example. (Hmm, my reference says Arthur Conan Doyle died in 1930... which would mean the copyright ran out in 1980. I'd swear it was only a few years ago I heard the story about the copyright expiring on Sherlock Holmes. Must be getting old and misremembering things... ) The copyright on Tolkien's works will run until 2023 at least since he died in 1973. Joseph Heller just died Last year if I recall correctly (my reference isn't new enough to list it) so the copyrights on Yossarian and Milo Minderbinder and associates will run until 2050.

[This message has been edited by Baron Munchausen (edited 25 August 2001).]

[BeeDee10]

For more detailed information on copyright as it currently exists, see the FAQ at the following address: http://web.mit.edu/cwis/copyright/faq.html

It looks pretty good to me. However, since the law is mutable and life+50 is a _long_ time, don't make any plans based on the assumption that you can just wait until 2070 or thereabouts (depending on when Aaron dies) to start distributing your own copies of SEIV. The duration of copyright protection has been steadily lengthened in recent years, thanks in large part to intensive lobbying by wealthy hollywood interests who do not want their old characters and movies to start entering the public domain (see "Sonny Bono Copyright Extension Act", http://www.law.asu.edu/HomePages/Kar...ightExtension/).
Copyright protection originally Lasted a _maximum_ of 28 years. I think rolling back the duration to something in that ballpark would help restore a great deal of respect for copyright as well as vastly enriching the public domain. But I guess this is somewhat off-topic for an SEIV forum, and so I will shut up now.



[This message has been edited by BeeDee10 (edited 25 August 2001).]

[tesco samoa]

thats good reading if your fall under american copyright laws. I was thinking along the line that copyright laws should be one and the same planet wide.

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[dmm]

The real rip-off of pirating software is that most software only has a useful lifetime of about 5 years. So 50 years of copyright protection is meaningless. Therefore, it is much more of a crime to pirate software than books. If someone pirates a book, the copyright owners have 50 years to get a return on their investment from law-abiding citizens. Not so with software! (Although, come to think of it, many books also have a short lifetime, such as celeb bios and computer "how-to"s. Maybe there ought to be different categories of copyrights, and short-term copyrights should be savagely enforced.)