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3/5/2016 Abandonware - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abandonware 1/15

AbandonwareFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Abandonware is a product, typically software, ignored by its owner and manufacturer, and for which no

product support is available. Although such software is usually still under copyright, the owner may not be

tracking or enforcing copyright violations. Abandonware is one case of the general concept of orphan works.

Contents

1 Definition

1.1 Types

2 Implications

3 Response to abandonware

3.1 Ear ly abandonware websites

3.2 Archives3.3 Community support

3.4 Re-releases by digital distribution

4 Arguments for and against distribution

5 Law

5.1 Enforcement of copyright

5.2 DMCA

5.3 US copyright law

5.4 EU law

5.5 Copyright expiration6 Alternatives to software a bandoning

6.1 Availability as freeware

6.2 Support by source code release

7 See also

8 Refer ences

Definition

Definitions of "abandoned" vary, but in general it is like any item that is abandoned - it is ignored by the owner,

and as such product support and possibly copyright enforcement are also "abandoned". It can refer to a product

that is no longer available for legal purchase, over the age where the product creator feels an obligation to

continue to support it, or where operating systems or hardware platforms have evolved to such a degree that the

creator feels continued support cannot be financially justified. In such cases, copyright and support issues are

often ignored. Software might also be considered abandoned when it can be used only with obsolete

technologies, such as pre-Macintosh Apple computers. A difference between abandonware and a

discontinued product is that the manufacturer has not issued an official notice of discontinuance; instead, the

manufacturer is simply ignoring the product.

Abandonware may be computer software or physical devices which are usually computerised in some fashion,

such as personal computer games, productivity applications, utility software, or mobile phones.

Types

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_softwarehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyrighthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Product_(business)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Softwarehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile_phoneshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utility_softwarehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_suitehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_computer_gameshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_softwarehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_II_serieshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_hardwarehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operating_systemshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orphan_workshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyrighthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Softwarehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Product_(business)


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The term "abandonware" is broad, and encompasses many types of old software.

Commercial software unsupported but still owned by a viable company

The availability of the software depends on the company's attitude toward the software. In many cases,

the company which owns the software rights may not be that which originated it, or may not recognize

their ownership. Some companies, such as Borland, make some software available online,[1] in a form of

freeware. Others do not make old versions available for free use and do not permit people to copy the

software. Many Abandonware websites have been set up to archive and make available copies of unsupported and discontinued operating systems made by Microsoft and Apple, as well as rare

development builds of such operating systems that have been leaked by the media or technicians working

for said companies. After Windows XP was discontinued in April 2014, numerous websites started

providing the operating system for free, despite the fact that the operating system's usage and popularity

prevent it from being considered abandoned.

Commercial software owned by a company no longer in business

When no owning entity of a software exist, all activities (support, distribution, IP activities etc.) in

relationship to this software have ceased. If the rights to a software are non-recoverable in legal limbo

("orphaned work"), also the software's rights can't be bought by another company, there can't becopyright enforcement etc. An example of this is Digital Research's original PL/I compiler for DOS, [2]

which was considered for many years without owner (now probably owned by Novell).

Shareware whose author still makes it available

Finding historical versions, however, can be difficult since most shareware archives remove past versions

with the release of new versions. Authors may or may not make older releases available. Some websites

collect and offer for download old versions of shareware, freeware, and (in some cases) commercial

applications. In some cases these sites had to remove past versions of software, particularly if the

company producing that software still maintains it, or if later software releases introduce digital rights

management, whereby old versions could be viewed as DRM circumvention.

Unsupported or unmaintained shareware

Open source and freeware programs that have been abandoned

In some cases, source code remains available, which can prove a historical artifact. One such case is PC-

LISP, still found online, which implements the Franz Lisp dialect. The DOS-based PC-LISP still runs

well within emulators and on Microsoft Windows.

Implications

If a software product reaches end-of-life and becomes abandonware, users are confronted with several

potential problems: missing purchase availability (besides used software) and missing technical support, e.g.

compatibility fixes for newer hardware and operating systems. These problems are exacerbated if software is

bound ("dongle") to physical media with a limited life-expectancy (floppy discs, optical media etc.) and backups

are impossible because of copy protection or copyright law. If a software is only distributed in a digital, DRM-

locked form[3] or as SaaS, the shutdown of the servers will lead to a public loss of the software. If the software

product is without alternative, the missing replacement availability becomes a challenge for continued software

usage.

Also, once a software product has become abandonware for a developer, even historically important software

might get lost forever very easily, as several examples have shown.[4][5][6][7][8] One of many examples is theclosure of Atari in Sunnyvale, California in 1996, when the original source code of several milestones of video

game history (like Asteroids or Centipede) was thrown out as trash.[9][10]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centipede_(video_game)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asteroids_(video_game)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunnyvale,_Californiahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atarihttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SaaShttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_rights_managementhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_distributionhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copy_protectionhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Optical_mediahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Floppy_dischttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donglehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technical_supporthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/End-of-life_(product)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Windowshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franz_Lisphttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PC-LISPhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_sourcehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_rights_managementhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sharewarehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Novellhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DOShttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PL/Ihttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Researchhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intellectual_propertyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_XPhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Inc.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsofthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operating_systemshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freewarehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freewarehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borland


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Also, the missing availability of software and the associated source code can be a hindrance for software

archeology and research.[11]

Response to abandonware

Early abandonware websites

As response to the missing availability of abandonware, people have distributed old software since shortly after

the beginning of personal computing, but the activity remained low-key until the advent of the Internet. While

trading old games has taken many names and forms, the term "abandonware" was coined by Peter Ringering in

late 1996. Ringering found classic game websites similar to his own, contacted their webmasters, and formed

the original Abandonware Ring in February 1997.[12] This original webring was little more than a collection of

sites linking to adventureclassicgaming.com. Another was a site indexing them all to provide a rudimentary

search facility. In October 1997, the Interactive Digital Software Association sent cease and desist letters to all

sites within the Abandonware Ring, which led to most shutting down. An unintended consequence (called the

Streisand effect in Internet parlance) was that it spurred others to create new abandonware sites and

organizations that came to outnumber the original Ring members. Sites formed after the demise of the originalAbandonware Ring include Abandonia, Bunny Abandonware and Home of the Underdogs. In later years

Abandonware websites actively acquired and received permissions from developers and copyright holders (e.g.

Jeff Minter, Magnetic Fields[13][14] or Gremlin Interactive[15]) for legal redistribution of abandoned works,[16]

an example is World of Spectrum who acquired the permission from many developers and successfully

retracted a DMCA case.[17][18][19][20]

Archives

Several websites archive abandonware for download, including old versions of applications which are difficult tofind by any other means. Much of this software fits the definition of "software that is no longer current, but is still

of interest", but the line separating the use and distribution of abandonware from copyright infringement is blurry,

and the term abandonware could be used to distribute software without proper notification of the owner.

The Internet Archive has created an archive of what it describes as "vintage software", as a way to preserve

them.[21] The project advocated for an exemption from the United States Digital Millennium Copyright Act to

permit them to bypass copy protection, which was approved in 2003 for a period of three years.[22] The

exemption was renewed in 2006, and as of 27 October 2009, has been indefinitely extended pending further

rulemakings.[23]

The Archive does not offer this software for download, as the exemption is solely "for the purpose of preservation or archival reproduction of published digital works by a library or archive."[24]

Nevertheless, in 2013 the Internet Archive began to provide antique games as browser-playable emulation via

MESS, for instance the Atari 2600 game E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial .[25] Since 23 December 2014 the Internet

Archive presents via a browser based DOSBox emulation thousands of archived DOS/PC games[26][27][28][29]

for "scholarship and research purposes only" .[30]

Also the Library of Congress began the long-time preservation of video games with the Game canon list around

2006.[31][32] In September 2012 the collection had nearly 3,000 games from many platforms and also around

1,500 strategy guides.[33][34] For instance, the source code of the unreleased PlayStation Portable game Duke

Nukem: Critical Mass was discovered in August 2014 to be preserved at the Library of Congress.[35][36][37]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duke_Nukem:_Critical_Masshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PlayStation_Portablehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Source_codehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Game_canonhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Library_of_Congresshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PC_gamehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MS-DOShttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DOSBoxhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E.T._the_Extra-Terrestrial_(video_game)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atari_2600https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multi_Emulator_Super_Systemhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_browserhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Millennium_Copyright_Acthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_Archivehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright_infringementhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_of_Spectrumhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gremlin_Interactivehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetic_Fields_(video_game_developer)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeff_Minterhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Home_of_the_Underdogshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abandoniahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parlancehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Streisand_effecthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unintended_consequencehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cease_and_desisthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interactive_Digital_Software_Associationhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Webringhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internethttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_computerhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_archeology


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Since around 2009 the International Center for the History of Electronic Games (ICHEG) has taken a five-

pronged approach to video game preservation: original software and hardware, marketing materials and

publications, production records, play capture, and finally the source code.[38] In December 2013 the ICHEG

received a donation of several SSI video games, for instance Computer Bismarck, including the source code for

preservation.[39][40] In 2014 a collection of Brøderbund games[41] and a "virtually complete" Atari arcade

machine source code and asset collection was added.[42][43]

In 2010 Computer History Museum began with the preservation of source code of important software,

beginning with Apple's MacPaint 1.3.[44][45][46] In 2012 the APL programming language followed.[47] Adobe

Systems, Inc. donated the Photoshop 1.0.1 source code to the collection in February 2013.[48][49] The source

code is made available to the public under an own non-commercial license. On March 25, 2014, Microsoft

followed with the donation of MS-DOS variants as well as Word for Windows 1.1a under their own

license.[50][51] On October 21, 2014, Xerox Alto's source code and other resources followed. [52]

In 2012 a group of European museums and organizations started the European Federation of Game

rchives, Museums and Preservation Projects (EFGAMP) to join forces to "Preserve Gaming

Legacy" .[53][54] Also in Japan video game software archival happens since several years.[55]

In 2012 the MOMA started with archiving video games and explicitly tries to get the source code of them.[56]

There are also some cases in which the source code of games was given to a fan community for long-time

preservation, e.g. several titles of the Wing Commander video game series[57][58][59] or Ultima 9 of the Ultima

series.[60] In 2008 a hard-drive with all Infocom video game source code appeared from an anonymous source

and was archived additionally by the Internet Archive.[61]

Community support

In response to the missing software support, sometimes the software's user community begins to provide

support (bug fixes, compatibility adaptions etc.) even without available source code, internal software

documentation and original developer tools.[62] Methods are debugging, reverse engineering of file and data

formats, and hacking the binary executables. Often the results are distributed as unofficial patches. Notable

examples are Fallout 2,[63] Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines[64] or even Windows 98.[65] For instance

in 2012, when the multiplayer game Supreme Commander: Forged Alliance became unsupported

abandonware as the official multiplayer server and support was shut down,[66][67] the game community itself

took over with a self-developed multiplayer server and client.[68][69][70]

Re-releases by digital distribution

With the new possibility of digital distribution arising in mid-2000, the commercial distribution for many old titles

became feasible again as deployment and storage costs dropped significantly.[71] A digital distributor specialized

in bringing old games out of abandonware is GOG.com (formerly called Good Old Games) who started in

2008 to search for copyright holders of classic games to release them legally and DRM-free again. [72][73] For

instance, on December 9, 2013 the real-time strategy video game Conquest: Frontier Wars was, after tenears of non-availability, re-released by gog.com, also including the source code.[74][75]

Arguments for and against distribution

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conquest:_Frontier_Warshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Real-time_strategyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_rights_managementhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GOG.comhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_distributionhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Client_(computing)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supreme_Commander:_Forged_Alliancehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multiplayer_video_gamehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_98https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vampire:_The_Masquerade_%E2%80%93_Bloodlineshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fallout_2https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unofficial_patchhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Executablehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hack_(hobby)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reverse_engineeringhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Debugginghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forward_compatibilityhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bug_fixhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_communityhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_Archivehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infocomhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultima_serieshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultima_9https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_gamehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wing_Commander_(video_game)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fan_communityhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MOMAhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xerox_Altohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Wordhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photoshophttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adobe_Systems,_Inc.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Programming_languagehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/APL_(programming_language)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MacPainthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Inc.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_History_Museumhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Br%C3%B8derbundhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_Bismarckhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strategic_Simulations,_Inc.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Center_for_the_History_of_Electronic_Games


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Proponents of abandonware preservation argue that it is more ethical to make copies of such software than new

software that still sells. Those ignorant of copyright law have incorrectly taken this to mean that abandonware is

legal to distribute, although no software written since 1964 is old enough for copyright to have expired in the

US.[76] Even in cases where the original company no longer exists, the rights usually belong to someone else,

though no one may be able to trace actual ownership, including the owners themselves.

Abandonware advocates also frequently cite historical preservation as a reason for trading abandoned

software.[12] Older computer media are fragile and prone to rapid deterioration, necessitating transfer of thesematerials to more modern, stable media and generation of many copies to ensure the software will not simply

disappear. Users of still-functional older computer systems argue for the need of abandonware because re-

release of software by copyright holders will most likely target modern systems or incompatible media instead,

preventing legal purchase of compatible software.

Those who oppose these practices argue that distribution denies the copyright holder potential sales, in the form

of re-released titles, official emulation, and so on. Likewise, they argue that if people can acquire an old version

of a program for free, they may be less likely to purchase a newer version if the old version meets their needs.

Some game developers showed sympathy for abandonware websites as they preserve their classical game titles.

[...] personally, I think that sites that support these old games are a good thing for both consumers

and copyright owners. If the options are (a) having a game be lost forever and (b) having it

available on one of these sites, I'd want it to be available. That being said, I believe a game is

'abandoned' only long after it is out of print. And just because a book is out of print does not give

me rights to print some for my friends.

— Richard Garriott, [77]

Is it piracy? Yeah, sure. But so what? Most of the game makers aren't living off the revenue from

those old games anymore. Most of the creative teams behind all those games have long since left

the companies that published them, so there's no way the people who deserve to are still making

royalties off them. So go ahead—steal this game! Spread the love!

— Tim Schafer, [78]

If I owned the copyright on Total Annihilation, I would probably allow it to be shared for free bynow (four years after it was originally released)

— Chris Taylor, [79]

Law

In most cases, software classed as abandonware is not in the public domain, as it has never had its original

copyright officially revoked and some company or individual may still own rights. While sharing of such software

is usually considered copyright infringement, in practice copyright holders rarely enforce their abandonwarecopyrights for a number of reasons – chiefly among which the software is technologically obsolete and therefore

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_domainhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Taylor_(game_designer)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Total_Annihilationhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Schaferhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Garriott


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has no commercial value, therefore rendering copyright enforcement a pointless enterprise. By default, this may

allow the product to de facto lapse into the public domain to such an extent that enforcement becomes

impractical.

Rarely has any abandonware case gone to court. But it is still unlawful to distribute copies of old copyrighted

software and games, with or without compensation, in any Berne Convention signatory country. [80]

Enforcement of copyright

Old copyrights are usually left undefended. This can be due to intentional non-enforcement by owners due to

software age or obsolescence, but sometimes results from a corporate copyright holder going out of business

without explicitly transferring ownership, leaving no one aware of the right to defend the copyright.

Even if the copyright is not defended, copying of such software is still unlawful in most jurisdictions when a

copyright is still in effect. Abandonware changes hands on the assumption that the resources required to enforce

copyrights outweigh benefits a copyright holder might realize from selling software licenses. Additionally,

abandonware proponents argue that distributing software for which there is no one to defend the copyright is

morally acceptable, even where unsupported by current law. Companies that have gone out of business withouttransferring their copyrights are an example of this; many hardware and software companies that developed

older systems are long since out of business and precise documentation of the copyrights may not be readily

available.

Often the availability of abandonware on the Internet is related to the willingness of copyright holders to defend

their copyrights. For example, unencumbered games for Colecovision are markedly easier to find on the Internet

than unencumbered games for Mattel Intellivision in large part because there is still a company that sells

Intellivision games while no such company exists for the Colecovision.

DMCA

The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) can be a problem for the preservation of old software as it

prohibits required techniques. In October 2003, the US Congress passed 4 clauses to the DMCA which allow

for reverse engineering software in case of preservation.

"3. Computer programs and video games distributed in formats that have become obsolete and

which require the original media or hardware as a condition of access. ...The register has

concluded that to the extent that libraries and archives wish to make preservation copies of

published software and videogames that were distributed in formats that are (either because the physical medium on which they were distributed is no longer in use or because the use of an

obsolete operating system is required), such activity is a noninfringing use covered by section

108(c) of the Copyright Act."

— Exemption to Prohibition on Circumvention of Copyright Protection Systems for Access

Control Technologies[81]

In November 2006 the Library of Congress approved an exemption to the DMCA that permits the cracking of

copy protection on software no longer being sold or supported by its copyright holder so that they can bearchived and preserved without fear of retribution.[82][83]

US copyright law

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intellivisionhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mattelhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colecovisionhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corporationhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berne_Convention_for_the_Protection_of_Literary_and_Artistic_Works


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Currently, US copyright law does not recognize the term or concept of "abandonware" while the general

concept "orphan works" is recognized (see Orphan works in the United States). There is a long held concept of

abandonment in trademark law as a direct result of the infinite term of trademark protection. Currently, a

copyright can be released into the public domain if the owner clearly does so in writing; however this formal

process is not considered abandoning, but rather releasing. Those who do not own a copyright cannot merely

claim the copyright abandoned and start using protected works without permission of the copyright holder, who

could then seek legal remedy.

Hosting and distributing copyrighted software without permission is illegal. Copyright holders, sometimes

through the Entertainment Software Association, send cease and desist letters, and some sites have shut down

or removed infringing software as a result. However, most of the Association's efforts are devoted to new

games, due to those titles possessing the greatest value.[84]

EU law

In the EU in 2012 a "Orphan Works Directive" (Directive 2012/28/EU) was constituted and is transferred into

the member's laws. While the terminology has ambiguities regarding software and especially video games, some

scholars argue that Abandonware software video games fall under the definition of audiovisual works

mentioned there.[85]

Copyright expiration

Once the copyright on a piece of software has expired, it automatically falls into public domain. Such software

can be legally distributed without restrictions. However, due to the length of copyright terms in most countries,

this has yet to happen for most software. All countries that observe the Berne Convention enforce copyright

ownership for at least 50 years after publication or the author's death. However, individual countries may

choose to enforce copyrights for longer periods. In the United States, copyright durations are determined basedon authorship. For most published works, the duration is 70 years after the author's death. However, for

anonymous works, works published under a pseudonym or works made for hire, the duration is 120 years after

publication. In France, copyright durations are 70 years after the relevant date (date of author's death or

publication) for either class.

However, because of the length of copyright enforcement in most countries, it is likely that by the time a piece of

software defaults to public domain, it will have long become obsolete, irrelevant, or incompatible with any

existing hardware. Additionally, due to the relatively short commercial, as well as physical, lifespans of most

digital media, it is entirely possible that by the time the copyright expires for a piece of software, it will no longer

exist in any form. However, since the largest risk in dealing with abandonware is that of distribution, this may bemitigated somewhat by private users (or organizations such as the Internet Archive) making private copies of

such software, which would then be legally redistributable at the time of copyright expiry.

Alternatives to software abandoning

There are alternatives for companies with a software product which faces the end-of-life instead of abandoning

the software in an unsupported state.

Availability as freeware

Sometimes user-communities convince companies to voluntarily relinquish copyright on software, putting it into

the public domain, or re-license it as free software or as freeware. Transfer of public domain or freely licensed

software is perfectly legal, distinguishing it from abandonware which still has full copyright restrictions.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_softwarehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Directive_2012/28/EUhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cease_and_desist_letterhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entertainment_Software_Associationhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legal_remedyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trademark_lawhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orphan_works_in_the_United_States


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Amstrad is an example which supports emulation and free distribution of CPC and ZX Spectrum hardware

ROMs and software.[86] Borland is another example for a company who released "antique software" as

freeware.[1][87] Smith Engineering permits not-for-profit reproduction and distribution of Vectrex games and

documentation.[88]

There are groups that lobby companies to release their software as freeware. These efforts have met with mixed

results. One example is the library of educational titles released by MECC. MECC was sold to Brøderbund,

which was sold to The Learning Company. When TLC was contacted about releasing classic MECC titles asfreeware, the documentation proving that TLC held the rights to these titles could not be located, and therefore

the rights for these titles are "in limbo" and may never be legally released.[89] That the copyright situation of

vintage out-of-print software is lost or unclear is not uncommon.[90][91]

Support by source code release

The problem of missing technical support for a software can be most effectively solved when the source code

becomes available. Therefore, several companies decided to release the source code specifically to allow the

user communities to provide further technical software support (bug fixes, compatibility adaptions etc.)

themselves,[92][93] e.g. by community patches or source ports to new computing platforms.

Id Software and 3D Realms are early proponents in this practice, releasing the source code for the game

engines of some older titles under a free software license (but not the actual game content, such as levels or

textures). Also Falcon 4.0's lead designer Kevin Klemmick argued in 2011 that availability of the source code

of his software for the community was a good thing:

I honestly think this [source code release] should be standard procedure for companies that decide

not to continue to support a code base.

— Kevin Klemmick, interviewed by Bertolone, Giorgio (2011-03-12). "Interview with Kevin

Klemmick - Lead Software Engineer for Falcon 4.0". Cleared-To-Engage. Archived from the

original on 2011-03-18. Retrieved 2014-08-31.

The chilling effect of drawing a possible lawsuit can discourage release of source code. Efforts to persuade IBM

to release OS/2 as open source software were ignored[94] since some of the code was co-developed by

Microsoft.

Nevertheless, several notable examples of successfully opened commercial software exist, for instance, the web

browser Netscape Communicator, which was released by Netscape Communications on March 31, 1998.[95]

The development was continued under the umbrella of the Mozilla Foundation and Netscape Communicator

became the basis of several browsers, such as Mozilla Firefox.[96]

Another important example for open sourced general software is the office suite StarOffice which was released

by Sun Microsystems in October 2000 as OpenOffice.org[97] and is in continued development as LibreOffice

and Apache OpenOffice.

There are also many examples in the video game domain: Revolution Software released their game Beneath a

Steel Sky as freeware and gave the engine's source code to the authors of ScummVM to add support for the

game. Other examples are Myth II ,[98] Call to Power II [99] and Microsoft's Allegiance[93] which were

released to allow the community to continue the support.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allegiance_(video_game)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Call_to_Power_IIhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myth_IIhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ScummVMhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beneath_a_Steel_Skyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revolution_Softwarehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apache_OpenOfficehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LibreOfficehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OpenOffice.orghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sun_Microsystemshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/StarOfficehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mozilla_Firefoxhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mozilla_Foundationhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netscape_Communicationshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netscape_Communicatorhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_source_softwarehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OS/2https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBMhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chilling_effect_(law)http://www.cleared-to-engage.com/2011/03/12/interview-with-kevin-klemmick-lead-software-engineer-for-falcon-4-0/http://web.archive.org/web/20110318015840/http://www.cleared-to-engage.com/2011/03/12/interview-with-kevin-klemmick-lead-software-engineer-for-falcon-4-0https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falcon_4.0https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_software_licensehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Game_enginehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3D_Realmshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Id_Softwarehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computing_platformshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Source_porthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Community_patchhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limbohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Learning_Companyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MECChttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vectrexhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ZX_Spectrumhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amstrad_CPChttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amstrad


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gets-a-visit-from-the-idsa) on slashdot.org

18. Games anti piracy bot fingers ZX Spectrum archive site

(http://www.theregister.co.uk/2003/03/07/games_anti_piracy_bot_fingers/) on theregister.com by John Lettice

(7 Mar 2003)

19. ARCHIVE - COPYRIGHTS AND DISTRIBUTION PERMISSIONS

(http://www.worldofspectrum.org/permits/#sofar) on worldofspectrum.org "Cases filed against World of

Spectrum: IDSA / DMCA #922932 (14/2/2003 - result: case retracted)"

20. ARCHIVE - DISTRIBUTION PERMISSIONS - SOFTWARE HOUSES

(http://www.worldofspectrum.org/permits/publishers.html) on worldofspectrum.org21. "The Internet Archive Classic Software Preservation Project". Internet Archive. Archived from the original on

October 19, 2007. Retrieved October 21, 2007.

22. "Internet Archive Gets DMCA Exemption To Help Archive Vintage Software". Archived from the original on

October 20, 2007. Retrieved October 21, 2007.

23. Library of Congress Copyright Office (October 28, 2009). "Exemption to Prohibition on Circumvention of

Copyright Protection Systems for Access Control Technologies" (PDF). Federal Register 27 (206): 55137–

55139. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 2, 2009. Retrieved December 17, 2009.

24. Library of Congress Copyright Office (November 27, 2006). "Exemption to Prohibition on Circumvention of

Copyright Protection Systems for Access Control Technologies". Federal Register 71 (227): 68472–68480.

Archived from the original on November 1, 2007. Retrieved October 21, 2007. "Computer programs and video

games distributed in formats that have become obsolete and that require the original media or hardware as acondition of access, when circumvention is accomplished for the purpose of preservation or archival

reproduction of published digital works by a library or archive. A format shall be considered obsolete if the

machine or system necessary to render perceptible a work stored in that format is no longer manufactured or is

no longer reasonably available in the commercial marketplace."

25. Robertson, Adi (October 25, 2013). "The Internet Archive puts Atari games and obsolete software directly in

your browser". The Verge. Archived from the original on October 27, 2013. Retrieved October 29, 2013.

26. Ohlheiser, Abby (2015-01-05). "You can now play nearly 2,400 MS-DOS video games in your browser".

Washington Post. Retrieved 2015-01-08.

27. Each New Boot a Miracle (http://ascii.textfiles.com/archives/4471) by Jason Scott (December 23, 2014)

28. collection:softwarelibrary_msdos (https://archive.org/search.php?

query=collection%3Asoftwarelibrary_msdos&page=1) in the Internet Archive (2014-12-29)29. Graft, Kris (2015-03-05). "Saving video game history begins right now". Gamasutra. Retrieved 2015-03-05.

30. "Internet Archive's Terms of Use, Privacy Policy, and Copyright Policy". archive.org. 2014-12-31. Retrieved

2015-01-08. " Access to the Archive’s Collections is provided at no cost to you and is granted for scholarship

and research purposes only."

31. Chaplin, Heather (March 12, 2007). "Is That Just Some Game? No, It’s a Cultural Artifact". New York Times.

Retrieved September 27, 2013.

32. Meet The Men Trying To Immortalize Video Games (http://www.buzzfeed.com/josephbernstein/meet-the-men-

trying-to-immortalize-video-games) by Joseph Bernstein ( Oct. 27, 2014)

33. Owens, Trevor (September 26, 2012). "Yes, The Library of Congress Has Video Games: An Interview with

David Gibson". blogs.loc.gov. Archived from the original on March 31, 2014. Retrieved January 18, 2013.

34. dave gibson (http://www.nodontdie.com/dave-gibson/) on nodontdie.com (March 18, 2016)35. Trevor Owens, August 6, 2014, Duke’s Legacy: Video Game Source Disc Preservation at the Library of

Congress (http://blogs.loc.gov/digitalpreservation/2014/08/dukes-legacy-video-game-source-disc-preservation-

at-the-library-of-congress/), Library of Congress

36. Library of Congress discovers unreleased Duke Nukem game (http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2014-08-06-

library-of-congress-discovers-unreleased-psp-duke-nukem-game) on eurogamer.net

37. Starr, Michelle (2014-08-06). "Unreleased Duke Nukem source code found at Library of Congress". cnet.com.

Retrieved 2014-08-12. " A cache of recently acquired video games at the Library of Congress turned up a true

find: the source code for unreleased PSP game Duke Nukem: Critical Mass."

38. Dyson, Jon-Paul C. (2010-10-13). "ICHEG’s Approach to Collecting and Preserving Video Games".

museumofplay.org. Retrieved 2014-08-22.

39. Nutt, Christian (December 16, 2013). "Strategic Simulations, Inc. founder donates company collection toICHEG". Gamasutra. Archived from the original on May 11, 2014. Retrieved December 22, 2013.

40. Dyson, Jon-Paul C. (December 16, 2013). "The Strategic Simulations, Inc. Collection". ICHEG. Archived from

the original on December 24, 2013. Retrieved December 22, 2013.

41. Tach, Dave (2014-03-04). "Broderbund founder donates collection including Myst, Prince of Persia to Museum

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polygon.com. Retrieved 2014-08-13.

43. A Museum Just Acquired 22 Pallets of Atari History (http://www.giantbomb.com/articles/a-museum-just-

acquired-22-pallets-of-atari-history/1100-4905/) on giantbomb.com by Patrick Klepek (April 30, 2014)

44. "MacPaint and QuickDraw Source Code". Computer History Museum. July 20, 2010.

45. Hesseldahl, Erik (2010-07-20). "Apple Donates MacPaint Source Code To Computer History Museum".

businessweek.com. Archived from the original on 2012-02-09.

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2016-01-17. "[Jobs] sent a one line e-mail saying it was a good idea, and it was done the next day," Spicer recalled. "Having an internal advocate is key."

47. Shustek, Len (2012-10-10). "The APL Programming Language Source Code". computerhistory.org. Retrieved

2013-10-15.

48. Bishop, Bryan (February 14, 2013). "Adobe releases original Photoshop source code for nostalgic developers".

theverge.com. Archived from the original on January 17, 2014. Retrieved October 15, 2013.

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Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20140507131754/http://www.computerhistory.org/atchm/adobe-

photoshop-source-code/) May 7, 2014, at the Wayback Machine.

50. Shustek, Len (2014-03-24). "Microsoft Word for Windows Version 1.1a Source Code". Retrieved 2014-03-29.

51. Levin, Roy (2014-03-25). "Microsoft makes source code for MS-DOS and Word for Windows available to

public". Official Microsoft Blog . Retrieved 2014-03-29. (NB. While the author and publishers claim the

package would include MS-DOS 1.1 and 2.0, it actually contains SCP MS-DOS 1.25 and a mixture of files

from Altos MS-DOS 2.11 and TeleVideo PC DOS 2.11.)

52. McJones, Paul (2014-10-21). "Xerox Alto Source Code - The roots of the modern personal computer".

Software Gems: The Computer History Museum Historical Source Code Series. Computer History Museum.

Retrieved 2015-01-08. "With the permission of the Palo Alto Research Center, the Computer History Museum is

pleased to make available, f or non-commercial use only, snapshots of Alto source code, executables,

documentation, font files, and other files from 1975 to 1987."

53. European Computer and Video Game Archives and Museums Joining Forces to Preserve Gaming Legacy

(https://computerspielemuseum.de/1243_European_Computer_and_Video_Game_Archives_and_Museums_Join

ing_Forces_to_Preserve_Gaming_Legacy.htm?nId=24) computerspielemuseum.de (on March 26, 2012)

54. British Library starts videogame website archive project (http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-

tech/news/british-library-starts-videogame-website-archive-project-6858507.html) on independent.co.uk by

David Crookes (13 February 2012)

55. Professor races against time to preserve Japan's video game culture

(http://ajw.asahi.com/article/cool_japan/style/AJ201309220054) by TAKAFUMI YABUKI (September 22, 2013)

56. Moore, Bo (2013-05-30). "‘All Hell Broke Loose’: Why MoMA Is Exhibiting Tetris and Pac-Man". wired.com.

Retrieved 2016-01-18. "The end goal is to acquire the game’s original source code, which can be quite difficult

to pry away from secretive gamemakers. If that’s not possible at first, Antonelli at least wants to wedge her foot

in the door. “We’re going to stay with them forever,” she said. “They’re not going to get rid of us. And one

day, we’ll get that code.”"

57. "BIG NEWS: Wing Commander I Source Code Archived!". wcnews.com. August 26, 2011. Archived from the

original on November 9, 2013. Retrieved January 14, 2013. "Thanks to an extremely kind donation from an

anonymous former EA/Origin developer, the source code to the PC version of Wing Commander I is now

preserved in our off line archive! Because of our agreement with Electronic Arts, we're not allowed to post

recovered source code for download--but rest easy knowing that the C files that started it all are being kept

safe for future reference. Our offline archive contains material that has been preserved but which can't be

posted, including other source code and budget data from several of the games."

58. "Wing Commander III - The Source Code". wcnews.com. September 13, 2011. Archived from the original on

December 3, 2013. Retrieved January 14, 2013. " As we celebrate Wing Commander III's first widespread retail

availability since the late 1990s, we would like to mention for anyone that we have the game's source code in

our offline archive. We know it's frustrating for fans, who could do amazing things with this, to read these

updates... but it's also in everyone's best interests to remind EA that we have the raw material from which theycould port Wing Commander III to a modern computer or console. Just let us know!"

59. "Wing Commander IV: Source Code". wcnews.com. April 3, 2012. Archived from the original on November 9,

2013. Retrieved January 14, 2013. " As with Wing Commander I and Wing Commander III, we are pleased to

announced that an extremely kind former EA/Origin employee has provided a copy of the Wing Commander IV

source code for our preservation efforts! We can't offer it for download at this time, but it is now preserved for

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60. WtF Dragon (2014-11-26). "Ultima 9: The Source Code". ultima codex. Retrieved 2015-10-28. "As we

continue to mark the occasion of Ultima 9’s fifteenth anniversary, I’m pleased to announced that the seemingly

dormant Ultima Source Code Offline Archival Project (USCOAP) has finally borne some fruit: the Ultima Codex

has added the source code for Ultima 9 to its offline archive."

61. Baio, Andy (Apr 17, 2008). "Milliways: Infocom's Unreleased Sequel to Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy".

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Among the assets included: design documents, email archives, employee phone numbers, sales figures, internal meeting notes, corporate newsletters, and the source code and game files for every released and unreleased

game Infocom made"

62. Voyager (April 8, 2007). "Ultima The Reconstruction - Fanpatches". reconstruction.voyd.net. Archived from

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63. Sines, Shawn (January 8, 2008). "Fallout 2 Restoration Project". gamefront.com. Archived from the original on

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silicon in a warehouse somewhere, and so you’d be conservative in the decisions you felt you could make, very

conservative in the IPs you signed, your art direction would not change, and so on. Now it’s the oppositeextreme: we can put something up on Steam, deliver it to people all around the world, make changes. We can

take more interesting risks.[...] On Steam there’s no shelf-space restriction. It’s great because they’re a bunch

of old, orphaned games."

72. Caron, Frank (September 9, 2008). "First look: GOG revives classic PC games for download age". Ars

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dusty unplayable relic to polished, cross-platform installer is a minefield of technical and legal obstacles. The

team at Good Old Games remain the industry leaders in the restoration of classic PC games, tasked with

reverse engineering code written more than 20 years ago [...] “Source and game code is an extremely rarecommodity for us,” explains Paczyński. “Older titles have often gone through so many different hands that no

one knows who has the original code anymore, or it no longer exists in any usable form.” With source files lost

forever, the team’s only recourse is to retrofit retail code taken from a boxed copy of the game."

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75. Con uest: Frontier Wars on GOG htt s://robertss aceindustries.com/comm-link/s ectrum-dis atch/12863-

https://robertsspaceindustries.com/comm-link/spectrum-dispatch/12863-Conquest-Frontier-Wars-On-GOGhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cdp.plhttp://www.gog.com/forum/general/classic_gem_promo_conquest_frontier_wars_copy3https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GOG.comhttps://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2015/09/16/how-gog-com-save-and-restore-classic-videogames/http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2008/09/first-look-gog-revives-classic-pc-games-for-download-age.arshttp://web.archive.org/web/20110912063921/http://arstechnica.com:80/gaming/news/2008/09/first-look-gog-revives-classic-pc-games-for-download-age.arshttp://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2007/11/21/rps-exclusive-gabe-newell-interview/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock,_Paper,_Shotgunhttp://web.archive.org/web/20140512040010/http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2007/11/21/rps-exclusive-gabe-newell-interview/http://www.pcgamer.com/2013/03/27/pc-gamer-uk-podcast-episode-87-ore-ore-never-changes/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PC_Gamerhttp://www.faforever.com/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PC_Gamerhttp://www.pcgamer.com/2012/11/19/supcom-forged-alliance-servers-shut-down-community-made-forged-alliance-forever-keeps-the-war-alive/http://forums.gaspowered.com/viewtopic.php?f=67&t=57459http://www.pcwelt.de/news/Nicht-tot-zu-kriegen-Win-98-Service-Pack-2-1-402036.htmlhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PC-Welthttp://web.archive.org/web/20131012074232/http://www.pcwelt.de/news/Nicht-tot-zu-kriegen-Win-98-Service-Pack-2-1-402036.htmlhttp://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2011/07/15/undying-vampire-bloodlines-patched-anew/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock,_Paper,_Shotgunhttp://web.archive.org/web/20140510140344/http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2011/07/15/undying-vampire-bloodlines-patched-anew/http://www.gamefront.com/fallout-2-restoration-projecthttp://web.archive.org/web/20131013024527/http://www.gamefront.com/fallout-2-restoration-project/http://reconstruction.voyd.net/index.php?event=project&typeKeyword=fanpatchhttp://web.archive.org/web/20130511021221/http://reconstruction.voyd.net/index.php?event=project&typeKeyword=fanpatchhttp://waxy.org/2008/04/milliways_infocoms_unreleased_sequel_to_hitchhikers_guide_to_the_galax/http://ultimacodex.com/2014/11/ultima-9-the-source-code/


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76. Hollaar, Lee (2002). "Copyright of Computer Programs". Archived from the original on July 11, 2008.

Retrieved August 7, 2008.

77. Saltzman, Marc (2002). "Flashbacks For Free: The Skinny On Abandonware". gamespot.com. p. 4. Archived

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from the original on 2006. Retrieved December 29, 2012.80. Miller, Ross. "US Copyright Office grants abandonware rights". Archived from the original on January 28,

2008. Retrieved January 2, 2008.

81. Exemption to Prohibition on Circumvention of Copyright Protection Systems for Access Control Technologies

(http://www.copyright.gov/1201/docs/fedreg-notice-final.pdf) by LIBRARY OF CONGRESS Copyright Office

37 CFR Part 201 (Docket No. RM 2002-4E) (October 2003)

82. Rulemaking on Exemptions from Prohibition on Circumvention of Technological Measures that Control Access

to Copyrighted Works (http://www.copyright.gov/1201/2006/index.html) Archived

(https://web.archive.org/web/20131123031312/http://www.copyright.gov/1201/2006/index.html) November

23, 2013, at the Wayback Machine.

83. Boyes, Emma (November 27, 2006). "Abandonware now legal? - Changes in copyright rules let gamers break

copy protection on old games--in some circumstances.". Gamespot.com. Retrieved January 11, 2013.84. King, Brad (January 19, 2002). "Abandonware: Dead Games Live On". Wired. Archived from the original on

October 25, 2012. Retrieved April 2, 2007.

85. Maier, Henrike (2015). "Games as Cultural Heritage Copyright Challenges for Preserving (Orphan) Video

Games in the EU" (PDF). JIPITEC . Humboldt Universität zu Berlin. p. 120. Retrieved 2016-01-18.

86. Lawson, Cliff (August 31, 1999). "Amstrad ROM permissions". comp.sys.amstrad.8bit. Retrieved January 19,

2013. "1) What exactly do you have to do to use Sinclair ROMs in an emulator, such as acknowledgements

etc?" Amstrad are happy for emulator writers to include images of our copyrighted code as long as the

(c)opyright messages are not altered and we appreciate it if the program/manual includes a note to the effect

that "Amstrad have kindly given their permission for the redistribution of their copyrighted material but retain

that copyright"."

87. "CDN » Museum". borland.com. Archived from the original on October 20, 2007. Retrieved December 29,2012.

88. "Vectrex System History The Mini Arcade". Vectrex Museum. Retrieved 21 June 2014.

89. Savetz, Kevin (September 17, 2001). "Can "Abandonware" Revive Forgotten Programs?". byte.com. Archived

from the original on February 13, 2012. Retrieved March 8, 2007.

90. Moore, Bo (2015-03-27). "Lost in limbo: on the hunt for PC gaming's abandoned classics". PC Games.

Retrieved 2015-05-01. "The saga of No One Lives Forever's resurrection has been a rollercoaster of ups and

downs. [...] The problem was, it was just the trademark—no one was quite sure who held the game's copyright.

[...] Digging into dead or forgotten IPs is tough work. These games came from an era when big-name

publishing was the only model for success. Even though many of the games on this list were made by small,

dedicated studios, they still relied on companies like EA to get to market. But as studios were swallowed or shut

down, the rights of their beloved games often got lost in the shuffle. It's unfortunate that so many of them are still lost today simply due to the apathy of the rights-holder."

91. g4tv staff (2011-05-30). "The Lost History of System Shock". g4tv.com. Retrieved 2012-05-30. " Looking

Glass Studios closed in 2000, a year after System Shock 2's release, and the copyright to the series went into the

hands of an insurance company. That left EA with only the System Shock name, but no actual development

rights."

92. Largent, Andy (October 8, 2003). "Homeworld Source Code Released". insidemacgames.com. Archived from

the original on October 12, 2013. Retrieved November 24, 2012. "With the release of Homeworld 2 for the PC,

Relic Entertainment has decided to give back to their impressive fan community by releasing the source code to

the original Homeworld."

93. Colayco, Bob (February 6, 2004). "Microsoft pledges Allegiance to its fanbase". gamespot.com. Retrieved

July 22, 2011. "The release of the source code came in response to the enthusiasm of Allegiance's small-but-dedicated fanbase. Microsoft's Joel Dehlin commented that the development team has "been amazed at the

level to which some of the Allegiance fans have remained hard-core. We’re astounded at the progress that has

been made at creating new factions, hosting new servers, replacing authentication, etc. It seems that Allegiance

hasn’t really died. With that in mind, we’re releasing the Allegiance source code to the community." "

http://web.archive.org/web/20140221095812/http://www.osnews.com/story/19298/_I_m_Glad_That_IBM_Declined_to_Release_the_OS_2_Source_https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamespot.comhttp://www.gamespot.com/pc/sim/allegiance/news.html?sid=6087574&om_act=convert&om_clk=newsfeatures&tag=newsfeatures;title;1http://www.insidemacgames.com/news/story.php?ArticleID=8516http://web.archive.org/web/20131012012745/http://www.insidemacgames.com/news/story.php?ArticleID=8516http://www.g4tv.com/thefeed/blog/post/713030/the-lost-history-of-system-shockhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PC_Gameshttp://www.pcgamer.com/lost-in-limbo-on-the-hunt-for-pc-gamings-abandoned-classics/http://www.savetz.com/articles/byte-abandonware.php?sort=datehttp://web.archive.org/web/20120213191159/http://www.savetz.com/articles/byte-abandonware.php?sort=datehttp://vectrexmuseum.com/vectrexhistory.phphttp://web.archive.org/web/20071020030033/http://bdn.borland.com/museumhttp://bdn.borland.com/museumhttps://groups.google.com/forum/?fromgroups=#!msg/comp.sys.amstrad.8bit/HtpBU2Bzv_U/HhNDSU3MksAJhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humboldt_Universit%C3%A4t_zu_Berlinhttp://www.hiig.de/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Maier_JIPITEC-2015-120_Games-as-cultural-heritage.pdfhttp://www.wired.com/gaming/gamingreviews/news/2002/01/49723?currentPage=1https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wired_(magazine)http://web.archive.org/web/20121025232338/http://www.wired.com/gaming/gamingreviews/news/2002/01/49723?currentPage=1https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamespothttp://www.gamespot.com/news/abandonware-now-legal-6162308https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wayback_Machinehttps://web.archive.org/web/20131123031312/http://www.copyright.gov/1201/2006/index.htmlhttp://www.copyright.gov/1201/2006/index.htmlhttp://www.copyright.gov/1201/docs/fedreg-notice-final.pdfhttp://web.archive.org/web/20080128134926/http://www.joystiq.com/2006/11/23/us-copyright-office-grants-abandonware-rights/http://www.joystiq.com/2006/11/23/us-copyright-office-grants-abandonware-rights/http://www.gamespot.com/gamespot/features/pc/abandonware/p2_05.htmlhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamespot.comhttp://web.archive.org/web/20051225151237/http://www.gamespot.com/gamespot/features/pc/abandonware/p2_05.htmlhttp://www.gamespot.com/gamespot/features/pc/abandonware/p2_04.htmlhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamespot.comhttp://web.archive.org/web/20051225151237/http://www.gamespot.com/gamespot/features/pc/abandonware/p2_04.htmlhttp://www.gamespot.com/gamespot/features/pc/abandonware/p2_04.htmlhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamespot.comhttp://web.archive.org/web/20051225151237/http://www.gamespot.com/gamespot/features/pc/abandonware/p2_04.htmlhttp://web.archive.org/web/20080711181121/http://digital-law-online.info/lpdi1.0/treatise17.htmlhttp://digital-law-online.info/lpdi1.0/treatise17.htmlhttps://robertsspaceindustries.com/comm-link/spectrum-dispatch/12863-Conquest-Frontier-Wars-On-GOG


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. ee , c ae e ruary , . m a a ec ne o e ease e ource . ews .

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95. "NETSCAPE ANNOUNCES PLANS TO MAKE NEXT-GENERATION COMMUNICATOR SOURCE CODE

AVAILABLE FREE ON THE NET". Netscape Communications Corporation. January 22, 1998. Archived from

the original on April 4, 2007. Retrieved August 8, 2013. " BOLD MOVE TO HARNESS CREATIVE POWER

OF THOUSANDS OF INTERNET DEVELOPERS; COMPANY MAKES NETSCAPE NAVIGATOR AND

COMMUNICATOR 4.0 IMMEDIATELY FREE FOR ALL USERS, SEEDING MARKET FOR ENTERPRISE

AND NETCENTER BUSINESSES "

96. "MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., April 1 /PRNewswire/ -- Netscape Communications and open source developers

are celebrating the first anniversary, March 31, 1999, of the release of Netscape's browser source code to

mozilla.org". Netscape Communications. March 31, 1999. Archived from the original on March 26, 2014.

Retrieved January 10, 2013. "[...]The organization that manages open source developers working on the next

generation of Netscape's browser and communication software. This event marked a historical milestone for the

Internet as Netscape became the first major commercial software company to open its source code, a trend that

has since been followed by several other corporations. Since the code was first published on the Internet,

thousands of individuals and organizations have downloaded it and made hundreds of contributions to the

software. Mozilla.org is now celebrating this one-year anniversary with a party Thursday night in San

Francisco."

97. Proffitt, Brian (October 13, 2000). "StarOffice Code Released in Largest Open Source Project".

linuxtoday.com. Archived from the original on October 16, 2013. Retrieved January 10, 2013. "Sun's joint

effort with CollabNet kicked into high gear on the OpenOffice Web site at 5 a.m. PST this morning with the

release of much of the source code for the upcoming 6.0 version of StarOffice. According to Sun, this release

of 9 million lines of code under GPL is the beginning of the largest open source software project ever."

98. Wen, Howard (June 10, 2004). "Keeping the Myths Alive". linuxdevcenter.com. Archived from the original on

April 6, 2013. Retrieved December 22, 2012. "[...]fans of the Myth trilogy have taken this idea a step further:

they have official access to the source code for the Myth games. Organized under the name MythDevelopers,

this all-volunteer group of programmers, artists, and other talented people devote their time to improving and

supporting further development of the Myth game series."

99. Bell, John (October 1, 2009). "Opening the Source of Art". Technology Innovation Management Review.

Archived from the original on March 30, 2014. Retrieved December 30, 2012. "[...]that no further patches to

the title would be forthcoming. The community was predictably upset. Instead of giving up on the game, users

decided that if Activision wasn't going to fix the bugs, they would. They wanted to save the game by getting

Activision to open the source so it could be kept alive beyond the point where Activision lost interest. With some

help from members of the development team that were active on fan forums, they were eventually able to

convince Activision to release Call to Power II's source code in October of 2003. "

http://timreview.ca/article/294http://web.archive.org/web/20140330084636/http://timreview.ca/article/294http://linuxdevcenter.com/pub/a/linux/2004/06/10/mythdevelopers.htmlhttp://web.archive.org/web/20130406161344/http://www.linuxdevcenter.com/pub/a/linux/2004/06/10/mythdevelopers.htmlhttp://www.linuxtoday.com/developer/2000101300221NWDTSWhttp://web.archive.org/web/20131016014106/http://www.linuxtoday.com/developer/2000101300221NWDTSWhttp://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/netscape-celebrates-first-anniversary-of-open-source-software-release-to-mozillaorg-73806207.htmlhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netscape_Communicationshttp://web.archive.org/web/20140326215538/http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/netscape-celebrates-first-anniversary-of-open-source-software-release-to-mozillaorg-73806207.htmlhttp://wp.netscape.com/newsref/pr/newsrelease558.htmlhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netscape_Communications_Corporationhttp://web.archive.org/web/20070401072854/http://wp.netscape.com/newsref/pr/newsrelease558.htmlhttp://www.osnews.com/story/19298/_I_m_Glad_That_IBM_Declined_to_Release_the_OS_2_Source_http://web.archive.org/web/20140221095812/http://www.osnews.com/story/19298/_I_m_Glad_That_IBM_Declined_to_Release_the_OS_2_Source_


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