SPA and litigation

I spoke at a conference on software and copyright a year or so ago, where the President of the SPA claimed (if my memory serves me right) that at the time the SPA had successfully litigated 200 cases (with more settled out of court) and had only lost one. They also (as I recall) keep the penalties from these proceedings, assuring an ever bigger and better SPA to find the culprits.

Incidentally, a number of software vendors in the Macintosh world have become supportive of strategies such as Keyserver for monitoring licenses and launches. Both the SPA and the Microcomputer Manufacturer's Association seemed (as of a year or so ago) favorably disposed, as well, to such a strategy which treats software much like other intellectual property: just as a book publisher cannot specify that a book sold to a library is for use by only one reader nor for storage only on one shelf -- neither should a software vendor expect any more privilege under the law. With an "electronic circulation department" afforded by launch monitoring software, the computer centers, the users and the vendors all seem to have their lives made simpler. In the case of most "enlightened" vendors, presenting the above logic (especially noting that it affords considerably more protection to them) has generally resulted in either exceptions to or revisions of the wording of their license agreements, though I have on occasion had to badger awhile.

David Dailey

>I'm not sure SPA has actually gone to court and won...perhaps someone
>could enlighten us on this point?
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>Internet: mshines[_at_]ia.purdue.edu | Michael S. Hines
Received on Mon Jan 10 1994 - 18:53:05 GMT