Abandonware: Difference between revisions
Lynn Macey (talk | contribs) Created page with "Abandonware is the body of work that was created, probably sold and then kicked to the curb by software developers. For some companies it is a business strategy. Why make old titles available if they detract from or siphon revenue from new titles. Corporate mergers are another way that software becomes an orphan. In these cases, the company was acquired for reasons other than their titles. Unless some proactive event happens that puts it into the public domain, the title..." |
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Abandonware is the body of work that was created, probably sold and then kicked to the curb by software developers. For some companies it is a business strategy. Why make old titles available if they detract from or siphon revenue from new titles. Corporate mergers are another way that software becomes an orphan. In these cases, the company was acquired for reasons other than their titles. Unless some proactive event happens that puts it into the public domain, the title's copyright remains owned by someone. Even if that someone have zero interest in maintaining or even re-releasing it, it is copyright violation to get a title from any means except buying it and in most cases it violates the license, you know that piece of paper or dozens of pages that you never read, to sell it. The catch-22 is obvious here. The copyright owner won't, or can't sell it to you and the license that they sold it under makes it non-transferable. | Abandonware is the body of work that was created, probably sold and then kicked to the curb by software developers. For some companies it is a business strategy. Why make old titles available if they detract from or siphon revenue from new titles. Corporate mergers are another way that software becomes an orphan. In these cases, the company was acquired for reasons other than their titles. Unless some proactive event happens that puts it into the public domain, the title's copyright remains owned by someone. Even if that someone have zero interest in maintaining or even re-releasing it, it is copyright violation to get a title from any means except buying it and in most cases, it violates the license, you know that piece of paper or dozens of pages that you never read, to sell it. The catch-22 is obvious here. The copyright owner won't, or can't, sell it to you and the license that they sold it under makes it non-transferable. | ||
Ultimately, it is a moral decision whether to make it available or not. The copyright owners can file a DMCA notice to have it taken down. They can sue for damages, but that would be expensive beyond what they could claim as their loss. It is hard to argue that they have been damaged given their approach to former titles. | Ultimately, it is a moral decision whether to make it available or not. The copyright owners can file a DMCA notice to have it taken down. They can sue for damages, but that would be expensive beyond what they could claim as their loss. It is hard to argue that they have been damaged given their approach to former titles. | ||
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Revision as of 02:10, 23 January 2026
Abandonware is the body of work that was created, probably sold and then kicked to the curb by software developers. For some companies it is a business strategy. Why make old titles available if they detract from or siphon revenue from new titles. Corporate mergers are another way that software becomes an orphan. In these cases, the company was acquired for reasons other than their titles. Unless some proactive event happens that puts it into the public domain, the title's copyright remains owned by someone. Even if that someone have zero interest in maintaining or even re-releasing it, it is copyright violation to get a title from any means except buying it and in most cases, it violates the license, you know that piece of paper or dozens of pages that you never read, to sell it. The catch-22 is obvious here. The copyright owner won't, or can't, sell it to you and the license that they sold it under makes it non-transferable.
Ultimately, it is a moral decision whether to make it available or not. The copyright owners can file a DMCA notice to have it taken down. They can sue for damages, but that would be expensive beyond what they could claim as their loss. It is hard to argue that they have been damaged given their approach to former titles.
Return to Interactive Fiction
