Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 (Tek) 9/28/84 based on 9/17/84; site shark.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!mhuxr!ihnp4!zehntel!tektronix!orca!shark!hutch From: hutch@shark.UUCP (Stephen Hutchison) Newsgroups: net.jokes.d Subject: Re: Re copyright laws and Gary Benson Message-ID: <1237@shark.UUCP> Date: Wed, 6-Feb-85 04:14:07 EST Article-I.D.: shark.1237 Posted: Wed Feb 6 04:14:07 1985 Date-Received: Sat, 9-Feb-85 06:47:24 EST References: <849@eisx.UUCP> Reply-To: hutch@shark.UUCP (Stephen Hutchison) Organization: Tektronix, Wilsonville OR Lines: 51 Keywords: Theft Summary: In article <849@eisx.UUCP> sms@eisx.UUCP (Samuel Saal) writes: >I say that Gary Benson has been providing a useful enjoyable, >harmless and fun service. IF he is violating anyones rights it is >not for his own or anyone elses financial gain. Therefore, we >should support his continued posting of the articles. We should >all band together to dissuade this "tektronix!tekecs!bradn" >{expletive} from "telling on" the altruistic Mr Benson. I >recommend flooding his electronic mail system until he either >must stop paying for his UUCP net "subscription" if he does so >now OR until his bosses see that he is spending so much time >reading his mail that they cut off his connection to the outer >world. Either way, we win. If he is convinced, Gary can restart >his postings. If he isn't, he is not long for this net.... IF I were to steal your programs and publish them in net.sources then I would be providing a useful, enjoyable, harmless and fun service. Right? It would not be for my financial gain, right? Brad has stated that he will write to Dave Berry, and to the Miami Herald, if this theft continues. I have urged that he also copy the letter to the president of John Fluke, which is the corporation for which Gary works and which is (potentially) an accessory to the theft if the Miami Herald decides to sue. A recent similar case occurred when a gentleman was publishing the "Joe Bob Briggs Goes to the Movies" strip. He was advised that there was the possibility that he would be sued for copyright violations. He checked with the paper which holds the copyright, and with the author. Both requested that he cease and desist copying their strip. In the early days of the net, when one of the sites was feeding UPI newsfeed directly into the net, they were forced to stop by request of the UPI service. I dimly recall them mentioning that UPI had been generous, and had not had their computer systems siezed for evidence. There is NOTHING you can do to stop Brad from writing to any of the above places. You waste our time and money with your ill-advised suggestion that we bury his mailbox; tektronix is a backbone site and if mail volume were to rise beyond reasonable bounds, the administrators might be forced to sever our connection, forcing a LOT of sites to scramble around looking for a news feed. That would hurt you more than it would hurt Brad. Lay off. If Gary gets permission to publish Barry's column, then he is welcome to do so. But until that time, if he continues to publish, ANY machine passing that column on MIGHT be siezed as evidence, should the Miami Herald choose to bite it for the 10K it would cost them, and make an example of Gary. Hutch (The above opinions are my own. Permission to copy is granted.)