About Sys III status - TUHS

5 Jun 2003

I came across this:
cm.bell-labs.com/cm/cs/who/dmr/bsdi/930303.ruling.txt

17 U.S.C.   101.  Version 32V source code has now been distributed,
without notice, to literally thousands of licensees.
Consequently, Plaintiff can have no valid copyright on 32V unless
it can fit within one of the statutory or common law escape
provisions.
          The three statutory escape provisions are listed in
section 405(a).  These provisions relieve a copyright owner from
the harsh consequences of noticeless publication if the owner
(i) omitted the notice from a "relatively small number of copies;"
(ii) registers the work within five years of publication, and then
makes a "reasonable effort" to add notices to the noticeless copies
already distributed; or (iii) proves that a third party omitted,
notice in violation of an express agreement in writing 17 U.S.C  
405(a)(1)-(3).
          Plaintiff cannot avail itself of any of these provisions.
Notice was omitted from thousands of copies of 32V; no contractual
agreements require the licensees to affix notice;
Plaintiff failed to copyright 32V until 1992, well over five years
after 32V was published; and Plaintiff has not yet made reasonable
efforts to add notices to the many noticeless publications of 32V.
Consequently, Plaintiff must try to fit within the common-law
doctrine of limited publication.

and I felt like asking a few questions in relation to Sys III - was it 
copyrighted?  When?  And has SCO's publication of said Sys III on its Ancient 
Unix web site created the presumption that SCO has no further interest in Sys 
III?

Wesley Parish

-- 
Mau e ki, "He aha te mea nui?"
You ask, "What is the most important thing?"
Maku e ki, "He tangata, he tangata, he tangata."
I reply, "It is people, it is people, it is people."