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Al Lowe, if you're reading, I am humbly asking you to consider putting all the source code you have for Sierra etc. games up to GitHub for all of us to {gaze|lo
by rixrax 8y ago
Al Lowe, if you're reading, I am humbly asking you to consider putting all the source code you have for Sierra etc. games up to GitHub for all of us to {gaze|look|worship...}. Let the collectors have the pleasure of having it all on the original physical medias, but let the rest of us mere mortals have access to the essence.
Edit: alas, it's pointed out that above may not be possible as IP is owned by someone else.
That out of the way - Your / Sierra games had such a profound impact on my life. I would go as far as to say that without Leisuresuit Larry,Space|Police|Kings Quest and others I might have never started [seriously] learning English and mastered it to the point that later I was able to move abroad and eventually immigrate to the new world. ( btw - that statement probably pretty much accounts for any possible problems with my English and poor choice of language at times ;-) )
- diggernet 8y agoIf he can't give the source away on github because he doesn't own the IP, then he can't sell it either. But he is.
- deleted 8y ago[deleted]
- larsiusprime 8y agoNot true. Otherwise you wouldn't be allowed to sell paintings you own, but don't also own the copyright to reproduce digitally. Copyright and ownership of physical artifacts are two different things.
- Benjamin_Dobell 8y agoNo, that's not how it works. Al Lowe is indeed violating copyright by selling these. You can't just go selling your ex-employers source code because it "happened to be on your laptop". It's absolutely a copyright violation. The reason you can sell physical goods is because of the first sale doctrine and alike. Al Lowe never bought this source code on physical media; rather he created it during his employment. Thus he is not permitted to sell it.
- ballenf 8y agoAll true. It's a unique case here in that by the time the copyright period expires, the media will probably be unreadable. The idea of copyright is to reward creativity for a limited time and then give that work to the public. If the work can't ever fall into public hands then I'd argue it shouldn't get copyright protection. Obviously that's a public policy debate, not a justification for breaking the law but it makes me hesitant to judge someone who takes a risk for the benefit of us all.
- Benjamin_Dobell 8y agoYeah, I ought to point out that I agree with everything you've written. I'm far from a proponent of how wide reaching copyright laws are these days. Thanks, Disney! Nonetheless, despite not being a lawyer, and having never taken a single legal class during my education; I still find myself regularly correcting other professionals misunderstanding of copyright laws. It would be so easy for someone to seriously ruin their life by not understanding this stuff. Although, that's largely a flaw of our overly complicated legal system, and far from being exclusively the individuals fault.
- jt2190 8y agoA quibble: The source code belongs to Al Lowe’s ex-employer only if he had a work for hire agreement in place with them. Copyright is implicit and, unless otherwise agreed to, belongs to the creator by default. Anything I write (including code) I have the right to copy unless I transfer that right. (This, by the way, is why your employer requires that you sign those “we own everything you create while you work for us” documents.) Edit: But this case seems to hinge on Al selling the physical media, rather than the IP rights. More like selling a used book.
- Benjamin_Dobell 8y agoThis depends on your jurisdiction, and in many places precedence has been set by case law. But generally, unfortunately, no. If you create something "on the clock" or using your employer's hardware (even in your free time), then the copyright is typically implicitly transferred to your employer. EDIT: This is actually covered in season 1 of Silicon Valley... Yeah, legit reference, I know ;)
- ptman 8y agoarchive.org!
- snthpy 8y agoSo funny, I also first leaned English from Leisure Suit Larry. I remember being stuck on "TAKE OFF CLOTHES" for the longest time.