3.635 rev. of WC; software rental; correction (100)
Willard McCarty (MCCARTY@vm.epas.utoronto.ca)
Wed, 25 Oct 89 17:30:44 EDT
Humanist Discussion Group, Vol. 3, No. 635. Wednesday, 25 Oct 1989.
(1) Date: Wed, 25 Oct 89 11:38:05 CDT (12 lines)
From: "Michael S. Hart" <HART@UIUCVME>
Subject: Questions for review of WordCruncher
(2) Date: Wed, 25 Oct 89 09:17:23 CDT (53 lines)
From: Frank Connolly <FRANK@AUVM.BITNET>
Subject: Software Rental Act
(3) Date: Tue, 24 Oct 89 21:19:37 CDT (10 lines)
From: Natalie Maynor <MAYNOR@MSSTATE>
Subject: Correction to MPA Announcement
(1) --------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Wed, 25 Oct 89 11:38:05 CDT
From: "Michael S. Hart" <HART@UIUCVME>
Subject: Re: 3.629 software? scholarly journals? (77)
re query on Word Cruncher
I am writing a review of WC in response to a request from another
discussion group. I will ask if I can post it (or portions of it)
to Humanist. If anyone has specific questions they would like to
have included, please send them to me and I will try to accomodate.
Michael
(2) --------------------------------------------------------------111---
Date: Wed, 25 Oct 89 09:17:23 CDT
From: Frank Connolly <FRANK@AUVM.BITNET>
Subject: Software Rental Act
[An interesting development in the US. Part of this message has been
deleted because it is relevant only to citizens of that country; for
more information, get the file as instructed below. --W.M.]
The proposed Computer Software Rental Amendments Act of 1989
(Senate Bill 198), will acted on by the full Senate Committee on
the Judiciary on Wednesday, October 25. In its present form, the
bill will require all SYSTEMATIC SHARING of software in
educational institutions to be done through libraries. Any
systematic sharing through computer centers, departments, labs,
and classrooms would be a violation of copyright -- unless it is
done with the explicit permission of the copyright owner.
By "sharing," we do not mean copying, which of course normally
already requires the permission of the copyright owner. Rather
the bill is concerned with "rental, lease, or lending, or ... any
other act or practice in the nature of rental, lease, or
lending...."
By "systematic" we mean sharing that substitutes for purchases.
The bill uses the phrase "for purposes of direct or indirect
commercial advantage." When the Copyright Act was enacted in
1976, the House interpreted "direct or indirect commercial
advantage" to mean just that -- activity which substitutes for
purchases, not whether the institution is for-profit or non-
profit.
Accordingly, sharing which is done so that each student does not
have purchase his or her own copy would be ILLEGAL (absent the
permission of the copyright owner). This law is retroactive: It
applies to software which was acquired at any time before the law
takes effect as well as software acquired in the future. This
means schools would suddenly have to route most of computer
activity through the library -- or negotiate with the copyright
owner for all the software which they presently own.
Software is systematically shared in higher education as well as
in elementary, secondary, and trade schools and in vocational
education programs. This systematic sharing -- like the sharing
of library books -- is a safety net that ensures that all
students can benefit from using educational software. S. 198
threatens administrative chaos and puts education at the mercy of
software publishers.
[text deleted here]
If you need further information send a message to LISTSERV@AUVM:
GET COPYRITE PACKAGE
(3) --------------------------------------------------------------15----
Date: Tue, 24 Oct 89 21:19:37 CDT
From: Natalie Maynor <MAYNOR@MSSTATE>
Subject: Correction to MPA Announcement
Although I'm not sure that the Mississippi Philological Association
is of yet worthy of international attention, I appreciated Kevin
Cope's enthusiastic promotion of the upcoming meeting in Starkville.
And I feel obligated to correct the address. Anything mailed to
Mississippi State University should not mention Starkville, MS. The
university post office is Mississippi State, MS 39762.