whdload collections legal?

[orb85750]

I'm not going to harp on this one, but I just want to know -- and maybe it's a stupid question:  There are sellers on eBay providing tons of whdload (commercial) games on CF.  Is this copyright infringement?  I know that copyrights don't simply expire/become public domain  -- at least not in 20-25 years. "Abandonware?" is that a legally recognized concept??

[orb85750]

They are not legal if they do not have the Copyright owner's permission to distribute.

Remember: we are not talking about old games here,  these sellers are preloading Hard Drives with a WHDLoad Key and re-selling it over many times.  WHDLoad is an excellent piece of software that is regularly updated and the author does not deserve to have his work pirated. They are also reselling Workbench and AmigaOS files without permission.  

These sellers are selling their CF hard disks at a price of nearly double the market price.  The sellers in question are selling sufficient quantities to be considered a business by the tax authorities but are not registered as a business, not paying taxes and have little interest in providing after-sales support.  We have had dozens of phone calls from their customers to us asking for help.

Interesting, I wonder if the author of WHDLoad has tried to contact eBay to prevent the unauthorized sale of his work.  That should be very easy for him to do.

[orb85750]

Well it is a bit fuzzy in some respects. Copyright only works IF YOU DEFEND IT. It's not illegal UNTIL you are challenged.

That may be true for patent disputes, but copyright infringement in the USA is clearly illegal.  We have seen bootleggers of DVDs, etc. get heavy fines, or even imprisonment.  It does not require a complaint/challenge from the movie studio.  It's simply a crime to make unauthorized copies and sell them on the street, internet, or anywhere else.

[orb85750]

I think there's quite a difference (legally speaking and otherwise)..... taking copyrighted material for your own use  -versus-  repeatedly selling it for profit like these leaches on eBay.

[orb85750]

Not quite as true as you may think. Most people submit to the authorities without even realising that they have done so. If a policeman describes the illegality of an act you have done to you (an illegal but NOT unlawful one that is) and then asks you if you "understand" by replying "yes" you have given your consent to be prosecuted. This comes from the terminology "to understand". In legalize it means "to stand under" or "to be bound by". By saying you understand, you (the legal identity that is, not the natural person), agrees to be bound.
Most prisoners are in prison as the legal identity attached to them has been prosecuted with their consent because they have done something illegal and then agreed to stand under the statute that makes it illegal. Of course, if they have caused harm or loss they may have been prosecuted for something unlawful. In this case the natural person is in prison instead.

Ummm.... Bootleggers are often raided here in the US -- no questions/answers!