[1273] in Public-Access_Computer_Systems_Forum
dbase (public domain??)
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Doug Taylor, Houston Cole Library)
Tue Sep 22 11:39:56 1992
Date: Tue, 22 Sep 1992 10:31:22 CDT
Reply-To: Public-Access Computer Systems Forum <PACS-L%UHUPVM1.BITNET@mitvma.mit.edu>
From: "Doug Taylor, Houston Cole Library" <FDT1%JSUMUS.BITNET@mitvma.mit.edu>
To: Multiple recipients of list PACS-L <PACS-L%UHUPVM1.BITNET@mitvma.mit.edu>
----------------------------Original message----------------------------
Please respond to the individual directly and not to the List.
Thank you.
=================================================================
Late in 1990 the U.S. District Court of California in Los Angeles
dismissed a pending lawsuit against Fox Software Inc., ruling that
Ashton-Tate copyrights on the dBase product line were invalid as a
result of false claims made in its copyright application. The
courts decision apparently meant that Ashton-Tate no longer holds
the sole rights to the dBase standard. The implication was that
dbase I, II, III, and III+ were (or could be considered) public
domain. Since that time Ashton-Tate has merged with Borland and
dBase IV has been marketed. I have been unable to confirm whether
or not the earlier versions of dBase (particularly dBase III+) is
now a public domain product. Does anyone have any information on
this? If this is true, that it is considered public domain, can
you give me a printed citation as to where it says this?
Frankly, the way the appeals process works, my gut feeling is
that this suit may go on for years and the early versions of dBase
will remain in limbo. Anyone have any info? Thanks.
Doug Taylor
Houston Cole Library
Jacksonville State University
Jacksonville, Alabama 36265
fdt1@jsumus (Bitnet)
jsudmt01@asnjsu.asn.net (Internet)
