Commodore Scotland Under Threat...

[number6]

Hmm... Just received an email from "commodore@amiga.com" in regard to my CommodoreScotland.com site...



I wonder who this could be !!! and what his actual complaint is, seem the games afoot now...

Just wondering especially from those of you who are both members here and members of my site what your opinions on this are and if you find my CommodoreScotland.com site entertaining & useful (for what it is so far)...

Forgive me for not understanding this well, atm.
Is this claimed to be coming from amiga.com, which is AI?

#6

[number6]

Exactly what software is in question of piracy?

Also one of the directors at c=usa is a lawyer and daughter of the main director

It's the email address that makes no sense.
Everything at Amiga Inc. has always been:
[personalname]@amiga.com
This address has to be a joke, since it makes it look like a Commodore interest is working out of Amiga.com, no?

#6

[number6]

Cloanto are not the copyright holders of old Amiga OS, they just have a license to distribute. I would expect that for every copy of Amiga Forever that they sell, some money tickle in the direction of Amiga Inc. OTOH, Amiga Forever also includes an updated and altered kickstart, named kickstart 3.X, which pretty much is an OS 3.9 kickstart - I do wonder what legal rights Cloanto has to sell such an altered kickstart, I highly doubt that it too is coverered the original 1994 or so deal they have.
Oh, and I got my copy of AmigaForever for free from Cloanto, in exchange for linking to them from my site, and I assume, from my involvement in back2roots back in the days. :-)

http://www.amigaforever.com/kb/3-122.html

The text on that page has been updated, and it's a good reference as to their position.
It has always been understood that until all lawsuits and/or settlements are complete that no amiga/amigalike companies will ever be able to conduct business in peace and without threat of further legal activity.
Then again, it seems that is the true legacy, so...

#6

[number6]

@jorkany

If you read all the Amiga Inc. vs Cloanto docs and decisions, you'll see it's about "usage".
Long story short...the judge is in hysterics over AI's claims.

Much like the Amiga Inc. vs Garry Hare case where the judge basically said "stop wasting my time".

#6

[number6]

isn't A inc dead?

No.

#6

[number6]

For all intents and purposes a.inc has been dead for years, and only in a zombie-like vegetative state before that...

No argument.

#6

[number6]

That's exactly what John Hurt thought about the Alien egg.....

True, but the Alien egg didn't get sued by his landlord.
He just changed locations. Oh wait...

#6

[number6]

I think Franko is highlight here a very good question:

"Who does actually own AMIGA OS?"

I very much doubt that any of the parties claiming to own the OS can legally prove this.

The court case was not a judgment, it was a settlement.
According to Hyperion:
"the rights of Hyperion to the "AmigaOS" trademark are exclusive, nobody but Hyperion can release AmigaOS 5, 6 etc."

The name Amiga OS still exists on amiga.com, which shows that ownership is different than right to develop and distribute.

http://www.amiga.com/sales
"LET'S TALK ABOUT" (snip) "AmigaOS"

#6

[number6]

Well according to that well know Amiga history site it looks like nobody owns it.

I very much doubt that anyone could succesfully seek damages against someone giving away 3.1 ROMS or even OS 3.1 itself.

Although you must consider what has transpired since settlement, this thread still offers the best information from several different standpoints.

Hyperion/ITEC/AMINO Agreement posted on Justia.com

A lot of the pre-OS4.x angles are discussed here.
At the very least, it's a good starting point to understanding.

As with most amiga truths, most of it comes down to which posters you trust to be objective.

#6

[number6]

@takemehomegrandma

Pluritas ... is currently accepting offers to acquire the worldwide rights to the AMIGA trademarks and associated intellectual property

This might be the part to focus on.
Imagine you are a bidder. You inquire with Pluritas as to what they are offering.
I should think Pluritas' attorneys would determine ownership before they inform you what you are bidding on, right?
Would this not be the easy way to put some of the mystery of ownership to bed?

Then again, if the response is along the lines of "we really don't know who owns what we're selling", that too would be enlightening.

#6

[number6]

Franko, you'll find that many OS4 supporters treat Hyperion and Co. as a charity. There are even some out there who don't have the hardware to run OS4 but they still buy the software. They also actually believe that OS4 *is the Amiga*, and therefore by supporting the OS4 charity they are somehow supporting the Amiga.

I know, it's pretty screwy, but that's just how it is.

While there is truth is what you say, there is little difference between how OS4 users look at Hyperion vs how supporters of the other amiga/amigalike options look at the ones they support.
I gather you single out Hyperion because some of the other options have no official management/company behind them?

#6

[number6]

Well, for AROS that's true enough. I'm aware of a few AROS users who seem to also consider AROS "the Amiga", though they seem to be tongue in cheek about it. MorphOS seems to be about doing the MorphOS thing, I can only think of one person who seems to think MOS is "the Amiga", it's even in his signature, and the management behind MOS doesn't promote it as "the Amiga". UAE, MiniMig, and Natami - supporting these means supporting real Amiga software, so in a sense with those two systems you ARE supporting the Amiga.

It's only because Hyperion was so anxious to get the Holy Name that they have so many who think that supporting OS4 means supporting Amiga. I'm pretty sure if you ask any AROS or MOS user if they think they're OS of choice is the actual Amiga, most will admit it's merely Amiga-like.

I wonder what will happen when CUSA is added to the mix?

Agree with most of what you say. I think MorphOS is quite satisfied with -not- being embroiled in any of the shenanigans and legal affairs surrounding trademarks and such. They've made that quite clear.

I understand what you say about C=USA, but I'm still more interested atm, in following what comes of the Pluritas venture.

#6