CD>> Just a point of interest - as the bulk of what ends up as commercial
 CD>> software is written by programmers employed by a company, the company
 CD>> owns the rights to it. So when does the expiry start? Fifty years
 CD>> after the death of the company? Or the Programmer?

 RS> Well, the whole 50 year business is a good example of where software is
 RS> quite different to literary works. The death of the author is
 RS> irrelevant, the software is continuously being upgraded anyway, and all
 RS> sorts of things like copying of small subsets that applys to literary
 RS> work doesnt apply at all to software.

 RS> Then there is the complication that quite a bit of software is actually
 RS> protected by purported contracts between the supplier and buyer,
 RS> completely different to the situation with literary works.

You haven't answered the question.  When can I start copying Lotus 1-2-3 V 1.0? BFN.

Paul

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