GeoApps ZD Cease Two

Friday, March 15, 2002

Subject: RE: Response from GeoApps to our cease and desist letter
Date: Thu, 14 Mar 2002 16:53:43 -0500
From: "Ulanoff, Lance" <Lance_Ulanoff@ziffdavis.com>
To: <angussf@geoapps.com>
Cc: "Schurr, Carolyn" <Carolyn_Schurr@ziffdavis.com>

Mr. Scott-Fleming,

Thanks for responding to our letter so quickly. While we appreciate your
enthusiasm for our utilities and the fact that you have a history with
them that goes back almost as long as we've been producing them, the
license text that appeared in print issues of PC Magazine prior to our
attaching a license agreement to the files does not constitute free and
continuous distribution rights. 

In fact, as the copyright owner, the moment we ask you to stop
distributing our software you have two choices. One is to remove it from
your Web servers and two is to work with us to acquire a proper license
for these files.

Yes, back in the days of CompuServe and BBS when it was difficult for us
to widely distribute our utilities, the idea of having other,
non-related parties also distribute the utilities made good sense. In
the age of the widely-available Internet, that's no longer necessary or
even wise. 

Again, we consider you valuable because you obviously have a deep
interest in our utilities and in the personal computing industry as a
whole, but we also consider our utilities a valued asset and we cannot
allow their value to be diluted by those who would illegally distribute
or alter them without our explicit permission.

Thank you,

--Lance Ulanoff
  Senior Executive Producer
  PC Magazine


-----Original Message-----
From: Angus Scott-Fleming [mailto:angussf@geoapps.com] 
Sent: Tuesday, March 12, 2002 4:20 PM
To: Schurr, Carolyn
Subject: STRINGS letter of 26 February


Ms Levin,

I am in receipt of your letter of February 26 regarding some 
old DOS utilities that I originally got from PC Magazine.  
There was no license included in the files as I downloaded 
them back then, and the ZIPs do not contain any license terms.  
I have tracked down the magazine with which I got these 
utilities, and the license terms listed in the magazine are as 
follows (excerpted -- I'm sure you have access to the full 
originals).  

        ...PC Magazine utilities available on PC MagNet can be
        copied but are copyrighted. You may make copies for
        others as long as no charge is involved, but making
        copies for any commercial purpose is prohibited. 

STRINGS (and any other ZDnet files I might have available) are 
all freeware programs that I originally obtained with my PC 
Magazine subscription.  I licensed them under those original 
terms as listed above, and at the time there was no limitation 
on the method of copying or on distribution as long as it was 
not for commercial purposes.  In fact, ZD encouraged 
subscribers to post these on BBSes to lessen the load on the 
PCMagNet modem back.   I am not using the PC Magazine logo 
anywhere on my systems.

I find particularly amusing your phrase "...we will evaluate 
our damages and contact you with our damages demand."  These 
files were originally provided as freeware with a paid 
subscription, and no limits were placed on copying, it is hard 
to see how you have suffered any damages.

Since the files here are provided as a free service to all 
users and not as a commercial service to my clients, I have 
re-enabled downloading of ZDnet files of that vintage.   

I am not providing any of the more recent files which I 
obtained since my subscription ended, as the license terms 
under which I obtained them are different.

I have submitted your letter to the EFF's ChillingEffects.org 
website as an interesting case.  

Please note that most PC Magazine freeware utilities of this 
vintage are available worldwide on many many sites worldwide, 
including the pcmag section of simtel.net.


---------------------------------------------------------
Angus Scott-Fleming              GeoApps, Tucson, Arizona
angussf@geoapps.com   1-520-290-5038 / fax 1-208-248-3124
---------------------------------------------------------

  "Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a 
   little temporary safety, deserve neither Liberty nor safety." 
- Benjamin Franklin