Re: Scott Adams & Legalities


10 Nov 1995 10:35:38 GMT

Mike Pelletier <sshifter@ophelia.waterloo.net> wrote:
> Well, [the Scott Adams games] have been made public domain FOR THE
> SPECTRUM, but I can't say for sure about anything else.

Bjorn Gustavsson <ermbgus@at.ericsson.se> wrote:
> If the games would be converted from the Spectrum format to, say,
> Zmachine format, would the converted games also be public domain?
> Anyone knows?

Almost certainly not. At least in the UK, copyright law is very strict
with regard to a work's medium. Permission to copy a work in one medium
does not imply permission to copy it in another medium. For example, if
an artist draws a picture and gives permission to a publisher to use the
picture as a book cover, the p[ublisher cannot then use pictures of the
book in advertising material without getting further permission from the
artist. Similarly, permission to copy a work over the Internet does not
imply permission to distribute a work on CD-ROM.

--
Gareth Rees