Thanks Mary Jo. :)
>Did you sell the source as is? If so and if they've altered the program >>enough, it's not illegal to resell it. Don't get me wrong, I think you >>should definitely pursue this, but after a certain percentage of changes >>have been made, it's not considered the same source anymore. > >This is absolutely incorrect. Copyright law protects derivative use >of material as well. The only legal use of copyright material is >"fair use" which has specific guidelines that would need to be met. >Of course, if the changes were so significant that the source code >was totally unrecognizable, it might be hard to make a case that it >was derivative. But it definitely is not legal to do it. > >The main issue in cases like this is whether the source code is >registered or not. While registration is not required by law, your >legal recourse is much more limited if you did not register the >copyright. It's fairly cheap so I always make sure to register each >major release of my software. It's also best to set up your >purchasing area so customers must agree to your licensing before >purchase so there can be no argument that they know the terms and >understood the code was copyrighted. > >It always amazes me the dishonesty of some people out there. I have >dealt with this issue a number of times unfortunately. In the worst >case, I actually had someone email me anonymously to blow the >whistle on their employer...they were selling copies of my software >to their customers without paying for the licenses. These types of >people always think they will get away with it, but invariably, >someone realizes what's going on and reports them. > >Good luck. Hopefully this is all a misunderstanding but if not, find >a good intellectual property lawyer in your area. Usually a >threatening letter from a lawyer is enough for most people to do the >right thing. > >------------------------- >Mary Jo Sminkey >http://www.cfwebstore.com >CFWebstore E-Commerce > > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Message: http://www.houseoffusion.com/lists.cfm/link=i:4:235177 Archives: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/threads.cfm/4 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/lists.cfm/link=s:4 Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/unsubscribe.cfm?user=89.70.4 Donations & Support: http://www.houseoffusion.com/tiny.cfm/54
