> Downloading commercial software that you own a copy of for personal > use is not illegal. Downloading old commercial software that isn't > sold anymore which the author doesn't care about is not illegal. > To be illegal, the owner of the intellectual property has to raise > suit and why would they over someone using the product personally?
No, it is still illegal. That is like saying "it's only stealing if I get caught" or "I stole a laptop from my friend but he doesn't use it so it's ok". I think it is more of a legal gray area if you are downloading a copy of something you already own, not necessarily illegal. > The people breaking the law are those who try to profit off > the software without paying the owners of it anything. But you are (in a sense) profiting by using software you otherwise wouldn't use. If you want a copy and you want it legal, use ebay. > I disagree strongly with the notion that using commercial abandonware > is illegal or criminal in any way. If commercial software were never > shared, it would never have the popularity that it enjoys. I'm not > against paying for the use of commercial software, but if the author > of the software doesn't care about it, why should I be prevented from > using it? I can't pay for the use of a commercial program that isn't > sold anymore and I am not interested in being fleeced by a third > party seller which probably doesn't have a right to sell me the > program. ebay. At least you can feel good inside. > I have never talked about the source code of commercial software nor > have I ever suggested that people go to a site that hands out source > code. In fact, I don't know of any sites that hand out the source code > to commercial software. Source or binary doesn't really matter. > I have never suggested that anyone else nor do I myself profit from > my use of software downloaded from http://vetusware.com. I don't > make money off of this abandonware. I don't even provide a source > for other people to download it from. I allow people to download > battletech I and II from me if they want to, but those programs > are so old that I seriously doubt there's an issue. it doesn't matter. > > I don't appreciate this late, I have the moral high ground tone > that you are taking Aitor. I am not a pirate. I do not go out > and get whatever commercial software I can without paying for > it only to turn around and try to sell it. It doesn't matter whether or not you are selling it. If you don't own something, it isn't legally yours. Simple. On a side note, I could care less whether or not people use illegal copies of software on FreeDOS; that's a personal choice. But don't try to force your opinion on other people. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Stay on top of everything new and different, both inside and around Java (TM) technology - register by April 22, and save $200 on the JavaOne (SM) conference, June 2-5, 2009, San Francisco. 300 plus technical and hands-on sessions. Register today. Use priority code J9JMT32. http://p.sf.net/sfu/p _______________________________________________ Freedos-user mailing list Freedos-user@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/freedos-user
