SALE OF GOODS and COPYRIGHT --------------------------- This file was written with the idea in mind of clarifying a number of questions and confusion that seems to surround an individuals rights when purchasing goods, and the subject of copyright in respect to computer software. For additional information about your rights when purchasing goods, you will need to delve deep into both the CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT and the TRADE PRACTICES ACT. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ SALE OF GOODS ------------- The Consumer Protection Act and the Trade Practices Act are a set of guidelines designed to give certain rights both to the consumer and to the retailer. When you purchase anything from a retail outlet it MUST be of a merchantable quality and it MUST be fit for the purpose it was designed for according to its description. That, quite simply is the basis of your rights. If you buy something privately, then buyer beware!! Because you don't have any protection. Whether you buy something from a second hand dealer or a large department store doesn't make any difference, as long as it is a retail environment you are protected by the act. Your basic right of warranty of merchantability and fitness of purpose as described above CANNOT be limited in any way by the seller. This does not mean that you can go out tomorrow, buy something, and then return it the next day. Some of the larger stores may have a policy of allowing you to return an item that you decided you did not want to keep, and giving you a refund. This is NOT compulsory. A store does NOT have to refund your money just because you don't want the goods any more, they don't even have to exchange it. Their only obligation is to repair or replace an item IF it is faulty. If you ever need to return an item, you should speak to the salesperson the same way you would like to be spoken to, DO NOT storm in making a lot of fuss and demanding your rights, because all of a sudden, you'll find you don't have any and it could take weeks or months for your item to "get back from the repairer". Then of course, there is the other side of the coin, eg ... You walk into a store and see the latest software that you've been after and it's normally £500.00, but this one has a price ticket on it for £50.00. So, quick as a flash, you realise someone's made a mistake and you grab the box along with the price ticket and trot up to the salescounter. Now, the salesperson, being very efficient notices that it has the incorrect price and tells you that it should be £500.00, but he can let you have it for £450.00. Straight away, you make a big fuss and demand it for £50.00. WHO WINS? No-one wins in a case like this, because you end up walking out without the Software, the price ticket is replaced with the correct one and life goes on. By opening a store to the public and placing goods with price tickets on them within this store, the shopowner is making an OFFER TO SELL. When you tender money you are making an OFFER TO BUY. Only when you have accepted the goods and the salesperson has accepted your money has a sale occured. The goods in a store are OFFERED for sale ONLY, you can purchase them only if the seller agrees. COPYRIGHT --------- This is an area that is becoming increasingly confusing, there are a lot of "grey" areas and vitually nothing is "black or white". To provide a definition of "Public Domain" and "Shareware", the following is an extract from the DRAFT REPORT ON COMPUTER SOFTWARE PROTECTION (June 1993) by the COPYRIGHT LAW REVIEW COMMITTEE. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Page 187 C. NATURE OF THE SUBJECT MATTER Shareware and public domain computer programs 10.87 At the public hearings and in a submission received following the hearings, the concepts of "public domain" computer programs and "shareware" were discussed. from the submissions, the committee understands those concepts as follows: (a) Public domain computer programs - programs which the copyright owner has granted the world at large a licence to reproduce. While copyright subsists in such programs the copyright owner is, however, precluded from claiming damages from anyone who reproduces the program. (b) Shareware- programs which have been made available for users to reproduce and use free of charge subject to certain conditions. Typical conditions that apply to shareware are that it is freely transferable to other users provided that after a specified period the user(s) cease to use it or make a payment to the copyright owner. 10.88 Discussion of these two terms at the public hearings indicated that there was some confusion as to their meaning. There was also concern expressed by some users that in some cases it was not clear whether a program was in the public domain. However, the committee is of the view that although there way be some public uncertainty as to the meaning of the terms and into which category a particular program may fall, these considerations alone are not sufficient to necessitate legislative clarification of the terms. Accordingly, the Committee does not recommend any ammendments to the Act to define these terms. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ If you produce a computer program/text/picture etc and release it into the public domain, you can still retain copyright but you cannot restrict its distribution or claim damages from anyone copying it. A shareware program may be freely copied, and if used after a specified period, MUST be paid for. HOW DOES AN AUTHOR ACQUIRE COPYRIGHT? The copyright act does not require any formalities (eg. registration or the payment of fees) in order to obtain copyright protection. Protection is granted automatically from the moment of producing a work. However, it would be sensible to include a statement along these lines: This work is copyright. Apart from any use permitted under the Copyright Act, no part may be reproduced by any process without the written permission of (copyright owner's name and address). You should regard your work as an item of property and keep dated originals/copies etc. HOW LONG DOES COPYRIGHT LAST? The copyright on computer software continues until fifty years following the end of the year in which the author dies. From this, you may realise that there aren't any computer programs that have "automatically" gone into the public domain. Just because a commercial program isn't sold any more, (such as some of the old C64/VIC20 games) it doesn't mean it can be called public domain and freely copied. The copyright is STILL invested with the author (alive or deceased) and the program CANNOT be copied without the author's permission. EXCEPTIONS TO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT? A fair dealing with a copyright work for research, study, critism, review or reporting of news does not constitute an infringement of copyright. The term "fair dealing" is a grey area which must be determined on the facts of each case. However the act specifically provides that it is fair dealing to copy computer programs for backup purposes. This text was produced by F1 SOFTWARE 1 Lower Mill Close Goldthorpe Rotherham South Yorkshire S63 9BY We are a distributor of Public Domain, Shareware, and Licenced software for the Amiga and IBM compatible computers. We have been involved in retail computer sales for most of the 1990's.