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- Path: sparky!uunet!gatech!ukma!rutgers!njitgw.njit.edu!hertz.njit.edu!dic5340
- From: dic5340@hertz.njit.edu (David Charlap)
- Newsgroups: comp.os.os2.advocacy
- Subject: Re: Tetris gripe
- Message-ID: <1992Jul27.194352.13262@njitgw.njit.edu>
- Date: 27 Jul 92 19:43:52 GMT
- References: <1992Jul24.021611.12788@panix.com> <1992Jul24.165919.16653@midway.uchicago.edu>
- Sender: news@njit.edu
- Organization: New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark, N.J.
- Lines: 35
- Nntp-Posting-Host: hertz.njit.edu
-
- In article <1992Jul24.165919.16653@midway.uchicago.edu> sip1@midway.uchicago.edu writes:
-
- >>Time out - didn't OS/2 2.0 beta have a version of Tetris? Yes, it did;
- >>I know because I wrote it. IBM Corporate had a problem with paying money
- >>to Spectrum Holobyte (the holder of the copyright) to license the concept
- >>of Tetris so that it can distribute the game with OS/2.
- >
- >I do not know what Microsoft or Quarterdeck Office Systems agreed to,
- >but it is possible they have not reached any agreement with Spectrum
- >Holobyte, in which case they could face possible legal action. I
- >would not jump to the conclusion that both these companies even
- >bothered to talk with Spectrum Holobyte.
-
- I'm surprised IBM even considered talking to SH. Tetris has been
- around in public domain form at least a year before SH released their
- version (remember the kid from Russia who invented it?). True, the PD
- game was only text-mode, but it still invalidates any claim on the
- concept.
-
- I think someone at IBM either didn't do his homework, or didn't care
- much about finding out.
-
- >Now, if that is the case, I really do not know how I would react. On
- >the one hand you have a company (IBM) which is trying as hard as
- >possible not to infringe on Spectrum Holobyte's intellectual property,
- >and, in discussions with them, they could not agree on royalties.
-
- I'd be really disgusted if IBM had to pay royalties for a PD program.
- Unless this version was going to have SH's graphical title screens and
- stuff.
- --
- |) David Charlap "I don't even represent myself
- /|_ dic5340@hertz.njit.edu sometimes so NJIT is right out!.
- ((|,)
- ~|~ Hi! I am a .signature virus, copy me into your .signature file.
-