Chr$ wrote:
For pretty much anything Spectrum related or for any other 80s computer you just google it and find it instantly - which is technically illegal, everyone knows that, but usually sort of tolerated as there is little chance of actually earning money from 1980s computer programs these days so the piracy doesn't financially damage the original producer. But where's the fun in having everything available in numerous online places and on umpteen different software DVD's being peddled on eBay.
Copyright is always a problematic issue.
Although as you say, there is "little chance of actually earning money from 1980s computer programs these days" the growth of new emulated hardware platforms which raise a lot of money on Kickstarter and come "bundled with 10,000 games" has really put a lot of the software community off, as they see hardware companies making money from their hard work, without even an acknowledgement or request as to whether it can be bundled with new hardware. That really goes against the grain and was never the intention of say, World of Spectrum - where software was uploaded for the benefit of the site users and never actually put into the public domain. The same can be said of the multiple CD-ROMs which are out there based on this content.
I don't want to get involved in copyright and even preservation discussions as this definitely caused me a lot of issues some years back - I adopted what I felt was the correct approach:
1) Concentrating on preserving the software initially from my own vast collection; and getting it up and running.
2) Using the information to populate the Wiki about the software and try to attract copyright holders
3) Tracking down and contacting the copyright holders and obtaining their permission for the software to be released into the public domain, or where they did not want to do so, release it as part of a box-set and pay them royalties on sales.
4) Using income from any sales to help fund new projects for the QL and help keep prices down for any hardware / second hand items I sold.
5) The collected software, complete with the preservation archive would then be handed over to a computer museum for preservation (as museums can also distribute such material between themselves for use in the museum).
Unfortunately, this approach was inundated with criticism which made me seriously consider whether or not to continue supporting the QL community - as soon as people understood that I was preserving software, they insisting that I release it freely for everyone - obviously it would be me facing the danger of being taken to court. Copyright holders who responded were generally supportive but some could not give consent due to licensing issues (such as Metacomco as they had a licence from Borland (I think) which has since expired); or simply did not want the software to be made available in any form.
After 4+ years of doing this, I lost heart in the project and have done nothing since. The QL Wiki was handed over to the QL community (thanks Norm) but few people have added to it since. So far as I know, there were only one or two further approaches to copyright holders since.
I still have a huge box full of software, manuals etc (weight about 60KG) - I did talk to one of the museums about passing it over to them, but with Covid etc, this never happened. That box must be worth about £1000+ to collectors.