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████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████ WE GET LETTERS! ████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████ This section is devoted to feedback from shareware authors, vendors and subscribers to the $HAREWARE MARKETING $YSTEM or other readers wishing to express their views about the shareware industry or shareware marketing. Files or letters to the editor which are over 50K in length and which are accepted for publication earn a free one year subscription to the $HAREWARE MARKETING $YSTEM. One free offer per author. Views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of SMS and are intended to stimulate discussion about shareware marketing methods. Please note that older letters from previous editions of SMS, many with HIGHLY valuable marketing information, have been moved to the SMS archives disk. See the GOODIES section of SMS for information on ordering this archived material. ----------------------------------------------------------- Information from Diana Gruber, shareware author (Las Vegas EGA Casino package) ----------------------------------------------------------- (Editors note: Diana is in the process of forming a new shareware association of authors, disk vendors and customers called STAR. The following material provides background on that effort.) Shareware Trade Association and Resources ----------------------------------------- WHAT IS STAR? STAR is a revolutionary idea in the shareware industry: an association embracing all members of the shareware community. Membership in STAR is open to all authors, sysops, vendors, publishers, distributors and users of shareware. All members of the shareware community are invited to join in the discussion of shareware issues and enjoy the benefits of the information and services provided by STAR. PURPOSES 1. Education Educate the software buying public as to what shareware is: licensed, copyright protected software, with few restrictions on distribution, and a limited payment-free trial period. Endeavor to increase public awareness and understanding of shareware as an attractive software alternative. Educate shareware authors and vendors about what their respective rights and responsibilities are. 3. Foster Open Communication Provide vehicles for discussing issues relating to shareware. Reasonable efforts will be made to discuss shareware issues publicly so that all may benefit from the information. Vehicles for communication will include such things as public forums and conferences on bulletin boards, echo-mail conferences, and electronic information services, with the understanding that as technology changes, efforts will be made to expand communication channels. Provide a newsletter for members and nonmembers (in electronic or other format) to present information as well as opposing viewpoints, and strive for a balanced presentation of shareware issues. 4. Marketing Assistance Provide information for shareware developers and distributors about what kinds of development and marketing strategies are most effective. Understand that shareware exists in the larger software community, and discuss methods and advantages of marketing shareware through retail channels and retail software through shareware channels. PHILOSOPHY STAR will promote standards of shareware ethics and quality. All elements of the shareware community are welcomed. Members shall not be excluded from STAR because of the size of their company, the popularity of their products, or the quality of their product or marketing effort. Successful members are encouraged to help other members improve products and marketing strategies. Members shall not be excluded from STAR based on race, creed, religion, sex, health, sexual preference, physical appearance or mental fitness, or any other physical or cultural basis. STAR will not interfere with the business practices of its members other than to make suggestions and provide information. Important policy decisions shall be based on democratic principles, with developers and distributors both having the right to vote on policy. A system of checks and balances will prevent one subset of the membership from imposing policy on another subset. Issues will be discussed openly with the understanding that opposing points of view exist and are beneficial to discussions. Issues shall be considered separate from club policy, and regulations based on issues shall be kept to a minimum. Whenever possible STAR will collect data to facilitate the discussion of issues. We will keep current with changing technology and the changing marketplace and make information available so members can adjust their programming and marketing strategies accordingly. Members who violate commonly-accepted standards of ethics and morality, or who break laws of any community, may have their business practices subjected to public scrutiny and debate, and possible censure by the membership. BENEFITS FOR MEMBERS (subject to change) -- Networking with authors, vendors, publishers, sysops and users -- Access to current information about shareware technology, issues, events and marketing -- Forums for discussing concerns about shareware issues -- Mailings to distribute disks to vendors, sysops, user groups, etc. -- Mailings to distribute information about programs and shareware developments to the media -- Discount on Jim Hood's $hareware Marketing $ystem newsletter and database -- Discount on hardware, magnetic media and services from the Organization of Shareware Writers & Distributors -- Discount on advertising in Shareware Update magazine -- Much more! DEFINITIONS Developer: --------- Anybody who has ever developed software and given permission for that software to be copied freely under any limited or unlimited circumstances, or is in the process of creating such software. Distributor: ----------- Anybody who provides evaluation copies of shareware to the public for free or the price of the media and the service, including vendors who sell shareware through catalogs and sysops who distribute shareware on bulletin board. User: ---- Anybody who has evaluated and registered one or more shareware programs. (Note: a publisher is anybody who markets and supports software written by somebody else. A publisher will be considered a developer if actively involved in the development of the software he or she is marketing, otherwise the publisher will be considered a distributor.) VOTING Initially there will be two voting classes, and one nonvoting class: * Developers (voting) * Distributors (voting) * Associate members, including users (non-voting) Members choose which class they belong to. They can only belong to one membership class. Both voting and nonvoting members may fully participate in discussions of issues. Discussions will be held in public. While the entire membership may participate in discussions, all voting will be conducted within each voting class. For example, authors will vote with the developer class while vendors and sysops will vote with the distributor class. Policy decisions require a majority vote within both voting classes. A class may not establish policy under its own name or that of STAR by itself. MEMBERSHIP DUES Membership dues will be administered on a sliding-fee scale as determined by a committee. Companies and individuals with a high annual shareware income pay higher dues than members with a smaller shareware income. All dues will be administered on a strictly voluntary basis: members will estimate their own dues based on published guidelines. All information about dues will be kept confidential and under no circumstances will members be asked to provide evidence of their income. The sliding-fee system of dues has good precedent. The Software Publishers Association (SPA) administers membership dues in this way. FOR MORE INFORMATION Scott Miller Diana Gruber Apogee Software Productions Ted Gruber Software PO Box 476389 P.O. Box 13408 Garland, TX 75047-6389 Las Vegas, NV 89112 702-735-1980 (voice) 702-735-4603 (FAX) 702-796-7134 (BBS) CompuServe: 72000,1642 ----------------------------------------------------------- Letter from Software USA, disk vendors ----------------------------------------------------------- SOFTWARE U.S.A. 4845 S. SHERIDAN, #505 P.O. BOX 471883 TULSA, OK 74147-1883 PHONE 918-481-6533 FAX 918-622-7889 Here's a few of our top sellers for February and March 1992. (In no specific order.) GAMES AND ENTERTAINMENT Duke Nukem........................APOGEE SOFTWARE PRODUCTIONS Battle Ground.....................MVP SOFTWARE Line Drive Fantasy Baseball.......McS CUSTOM SOFTWARE McMurphys Mansion.................MARTIN-ART Pharaos Tomb......................APOGEE SOFTWARE PRODUCTIONS UTILITIES Home Managment II.................MVP SOFTWARE QTax..............................SELF-HELP SOFTWARE Automate..........................BOYD W. PENN Vacation Planner..................RV SOFTWARE A FEW OTHER GOODIES>>> HDM IV............................MICROFOX COMPANY Ultimate Geography................ULTIMATE SOFTWARE JBT Tools.........................JB TECH., INC. NOTE TO AUTHORS: If you're interested in having your programs distributed by a reputable and honest firm, then we encourage you to send us a disk. Here's what just a few of our authors have to say... "I am impressed with your energy and dedication, regarding the catalog you made up for my programs." John Sehlmeier UT "It is quite refreshing to see people go through the effort to check the copyright of shareware products. Of course you may distribute our shareware products, with our thanks and blessing." Edward Reasor, Lightwave Consultants FL "I recently received your shareware catalog on disk and was very impressed with your selection and the overall quality of your package." Scott Miller, Apogee Software Productions TX "Thank you for writing to let us know that you are including our programs to your shareware catalog. It has been our experience that most shareware vendors simply add the programs to their catalog and never notify the author...It is a pleasure to be associated with a vendor who takes the time to show this consideration to the shareware author." R.M. Frawley, McS Custom Software CA ----------------------------------------------------------- Letter and information from Jim Thompson ----------------------------------------------------------- Date: 02-Jun-92 16:12 PDT From: Jim E. Thompson [76050,3445] Subj: Catalog Update ATTN: Shareware Authors. We are presently updating our Shareware Catalog and would appreciate your mailing us copies of all new and updated programs you have available to: Jim Thompson, Jim Thompson Enterprises, 150 S Magnolia Ave Ste 248, Anaheim, CA 92804-2171. Our phone numbers is (714) 821-5090. We are an ASP approved vendor and all programs will be distributed per ASP guidelines, plus any special guidelines you might require. To encourge author registrations and promote shareware in general, our next catalog will offer "10" ten FREE disks to any user who sends us proof of registration (copy of check, credit card slip, etc) no matter where they obtained the original disk. This offer includes any registrations made during the past six months, forward. The only requirement is that the author's program must be listed in our catalog and the user place a minimum (5) five disk order ($3.00 ea) with a 1 registration limit per order. This is addition to any price breaks listed in the catalog. In addition we will give 5 five FREE disks (under the above rules) for any user paying the author an update fee. No matter how small author registration or update fee. We feel this offer should help to increase your registrations and updates, so we hope you inform your users that we will send them a free catalog so they can take advantage of this offer. We will send you an updated copy of our catalog, so feel free to pass it along to everyone, since in doing so you should receive LOTS of additional checks in the mail. We would also appreciate your feedback and suggestions regarding this offer or any other ways you feel we might help increase you registrations. ----------------------------------------------------------- Second Letter and information from Jim Thompson ----------------------------------------------------------- (Editors note: this is a copy of a message which gives further clarification of the Thompson Enterprises offer discussed above. Apparently shareware author Don Strenczewilk requested clarification of the offer from Jim Thompson who responded as follows.) Date: 06-Jun-92 16:02 PDT From: Jim E. Thompson [76050,3445] Subj: Catalog Update Sent To Don Strenczewilk 72617,132 Re: Registration Incentive Yes, TAPCIS in our catalog. Therefore, we would also be interested in adding your TAPCIS / CIS add-on program to our catalog as well. I recently registered TAPCIS (It is not an easy program to understand) for possible support, and if your program helps make the use of CIS easier to use I possibly might personally be interested in it as well. >>"The only requirement is that the author's program must be listed in our catalog" (So we can compare the user requests for Free disks to our author database to determine #1 If the author is a bon afide author and not just some friend of the user #2 That the user has indeed registered or updated, sent you the author a check. To give you an example: we don't care where the user obtained the program from; the user could have D/L'ed it from CIS, sent you his registration five months ago, and BY YOU informing him that if he will send us a copy of his cancelled check or credit slip (proof of registration) that not only will we send him a free catalog listing over 2500 shareware disks, we will issue him a credit to evaluate 10 additional disks of his choice (with minimum 5 disk order, plus shipping charges and applicable sales tax on the total 15 disks, we can't give away the sales tax that may be due) and these 10 FREE disks are in addition to any volume discounts he might be intitled to per our catalog. Let me point out, that the main purpose of the 10 Free disk offer is to encourage users to register the programs they use, AND SEND YOU THE AUTHOR MONEY! I personally feel that all authors who will work with me, by sending our catalog to their user list informing them of the above offer, can expect to see registrations increase dramatically! Since we are not placing any minimums on registration amounts, it's a hard offer to turn down, when by sending a Shareware author any amount of registration fee ($5.00 for example) that the user would be entitled to get 10 more disks of shareware programs for free to evaluate. Register one of the 10 Free programs and get ten more free disks, and on and on.. Quite an incentive when the blank disks alone are worth the small amount paid. This offer is like the famous hamburger offer: "The User CAN Have It His Way", all he has to do is show us that he has sent the Author the requested registration fee on any program in our catalog and request his 10 free disks as per above. The main point is that the user has sent YOU or some other author MONEY for their shareware program. If you have any further questions or suggestions, please contact me. Jim Thompson ----------------------------------------------------------- Information from Jeff Napier, Another Company Author Writer's Dream and Multimedia Workshop ----------------------------------------------------------- ANOTHER COMPANY P.O. Box 298 Applegate, OR 97530 USA 503-846-7884 Hello Jim, Thanks for the ASCII list. I converted it into a format useable with my own jury-rigged programming, and my wife, Lynne, is sorting it all out. We'll send you a copy of our finished selections so you can weed out the tests, then we'll send disks to the remaining distributors. If we get a positive response from these distributors, we'll then add them to our own list (if it's ok with you to do it this way). It looks like you haven't seen our catalog, so I've enclosed it. Would you please change Another Company's listing? Your SHAREWARE MARKETING SYSTEM has been added. It is #566a,b, found in the chapter, Something For Everyone, and also in What's New. As always, thanks for your wonderful contributions to the world of shareware. For those who are wondering what Another Company is doing exactly: We are concentrating on authoring new programs. We used to be a serious distributor, but now have reduced the distribution end of our business, mostly filling orders from old customers and supplying 20 retail outlets. At this time, authors who send us disks may find that we only distribute on average perhaps 200 copies per year per program, so sending your disks to us may not be profitable. Yet, we really want to see everything and so invite submissions. Coming soon: C Magic, an add-in for programmers using Turbo C ver 1.5 through Borland C++ ver 3.1. It will give the programmer super-easy-to-create pop-up help windows, dialog boxes and lightbar menus, full mouse support, built-in graphics support up to VGA in 256 colors, plus simplification of many other C programming chores. It will come with a tutorial for beginners which should make the confusing world of Borland C easier to understand than ever before! It will be similar to our Pascal Magic. Also, I'm considering a Windows 3.1 tutorial and a new typing game that'll be so much fun, you won't be able to avoid learning to type faster and more accurately. This game will be designed so that beginning and advanced typists will all benefit & have fun! And, of course, our pursuit of the ultimate multimedia program continues. I've completed the Multimedia Workshop version 3.1, and won't stop there! Last comment: I see two waves in shareware. The first wave is nearly completed and the second wave is just beginning. The first was the programmers who created programs - the spreadsheets, the word processors, graphics programs and more specialized software. The second wave is the information wave and will be peopled by nearly everybody! In the second wave, anyone who knows anything will be able to use the products of the first wave to present their knowledge electronically. For instance, the glassblower who is retiring, the calculus teacher, the historian who has made a interesting discovery, the housewife with great recipes, they can all make disks using text, multimedia, whatever, and release them as shareware or freeware. If they can follow up their first disk with a second offering, perhaps a more extensive coverage of their subject or a related subject, and advertise the second non-shareware disks in the first disks, they might might have brisk mail-order business for their second, disks! With shareware, there is no longer any reason to send queries and manuscripts to publishers and hope and hope and hope... Perhaps you've heard of coccooning, that futurists are predicting we'll all stay at home more. This is good, because we'll use less petroleum resources and have more comfort at work and at play, while being surrounded by our loved ones. Sharing electronic information will play an important role in bringing about this future. Disk-based conferencing means less travel, and less paper-based waste. Shareware has already done it for Another Company. Lynne and I do work at home, and we love it! Sincerely, Jeff Napier, d.b.a. Another Company ----------------------------------------------------------- First Letter from Org. of Shareware Writers and Dist. ----------------------------------------------------------- (Editor's note: several shareware authors have asked for more information about the Organization of Shareware Writers and Distributors. Recently I received notice that my PC-Learn disk was selected for review by that group. Reprint of their notification letter provides more insight about their operation and may be helpful to other authors curious about this group.) The Organization of Shareware Writers and Distributors 34395 Dobson Way Fremont, CA 94555 Voice: 510/796-0541 BBS: 800/982-8650 FAX: 510/796-1010 6/1/92 TO: PC-Learn, Mr. Jim Hood The organization is pleased to announce thatg PC-Learn has been selected to be reviewed this month for SoftDISK on disk Monthly by the Organization of Shareware Writers and Distributors. The organization has contracted to be the review point for their new Shareware section. SoftDisk as you may know is a monthly magazine with a circulation of over 30,000. Members of our organization will be reviewwing 30 programs each month, 20 of which will be spotlighted in the new section of ON DISK. These programs will be reviewed on the basis of their value to the end user, orginality, use of color and sound. The six categories for review are education, entertainment, graphics, utility, productivity and Windows. The 20 programs spotlighted in ON DISK MONTHLY will be offered for distribution by SOFTDISK and our organizatiln. This assures a distribution point guaranteeing virus free, high quality copying. SOFTDFISK is industry known as a suppller of high quality products and OSWAD is the distributiion point of other monthly mailings. Educational wording will be used to encourage registration and support the author. SOFTDISK and OSWAD understand the difference between "free" software and shareware and will continue our efforts to educate the public We currently have PC-Learn 5.6. If this is your current version, please indicate so and return only the release as soon as possible to ensure review. Additionally, each month, all 30 programs intitially reviewed by OSWAD will be highlighted in our monthly magazine for our distirbutors to review. This we expect will increase the request for your programs and hopefully your registration percentage. On the enclosed release, please add the following information to ensure accurate reporting. 1. Registration fees. 2. Registration benefits. 3. Program requirements. 4. Latest version number. 5. Any additional information we need. As always, please call if you require further information. Benjamin Drake and Vance Venable. ----------------------------------------------------------- Second Letter from Org. of Shareware Writers and Dist. ----------------------------------------------------------- The Organization of Shareware Writers and Distributors 34395 Dobson Way Fremont, CA 94555 Voice: 510/796-0541 BBS: 800/982-8650 FAX: 510/796-1010 Jim, A pleasure taling with you again today. As we briefly discussed the Organization of Shareware Writers & Distributors, I would like to point out some facts that authors, distributors and BBS operators may like to know about us. Despite the fact that it seems unbelievable to some authors, OSWAD is a free support mechanism for them to distribute their shareware. We place no request for money on them and make no demands on their programs. I have explained to several authors that "bad" programs are their own reward. We do ask authors to accept membership in the organization to please advertise same. Yours is coming. On the other end, we are building a distributor and BBS network that allows for good dissemination of new programs and are working hard to ensure shareware distributors help educate the public that they sell to. We use educational wording on packaging, etc to promote payment. As information, I believe shareware will either dry up or change form to something less obtainable if registrtation numbers fall too low. We have adopted a saying "PAYMENT PROMOTES PRODUCT," and belive it to be true. Authors should send programs with a release for our organization to distribute ($5.00 suggested) to our address listed above. Authors are encouraged to call Vance Venable or Ben Drake at our number listed above and let us know what they want us to evolve into for them. We want to make authors and distributors both happy. Also, our public BBS service has quesiton #5 set aside for anyone who wants to know more about us. The number is 510/796-1010. This is a semi-open BBS and will allow the caller to fill out a questionnaire to allow us to make contact. Current authors services include: a complete registration center for their programs that saves them time to do the fun things in life, bulk disk copying service and a distribution service for regular monthly mailings. Distributors and BBS operators should make contact in either of the above three ways. We have membership plans to satisfy most needs and will be able to modify that plan if required. Thanks for your information and help. Hope to see you at SSS. Benjamin Drake OSWAD ----------------------------------------------------------- Letter from Alan McCrea ----------------------------------------------------------- McCrea Automation 11130 Olympic Road Richmond, VA 23235 804/320-3829 5/20/92 Dear Mr. Hood, You indicate that you appreciate feedback about the various distributors in your database. I recently requested catalogs and information on submitting programs for distribution from practically all of your A-rated distributors and was appalled to find how many of them sinply ignore potential customers! Of the 66 I contacted (by phone if toll-free, by postcard otherwise) during February and early March of 1992, I received no response whatsoever from the following: Sho-tronix, Phoenix, AZ Cross-roads shareware, Alvin, TX Soft A'Ware, San Diego, CA (Phone chat 2/18/92 with Mr. Van Valkenburg who promised but never sent a catalog) Useful Software Library, West Palm Beach, FL Best Bits and Bytes, Van Nuys, CA Save on Software, Wilkes Barre, PA Williams Software, Kokomo, IN Bright Futures, East Windsor, CT Bonware, McAlisterville, PA The Software Labs, Los Angeles, CA PD Select, Gastonia, NC PC-SIG, Sunnyvale, CA First Bank of Shareware, St. Paul, MN People's Choice, Cordova, TN Gemini Marketing, Duvall, WA Generic Systems, Hayward, CA Jim Thompson Enterprises, Anaheim, CA New England Software Library, Starksboro, VT Datamax Intl/City Software, Colo Springs, CO Elite Shareware Labs, Staunton, VA Entrepreneurs Shareware, Friendship, TX That is only a 68% response rate! Isn't it interesting to hear businesses complaining about the recession while, at the same time, avoiding gaining customers? Alan F. McCrea ----------------------------------------------------------- Letter from Charles Kramer ----------------------------------------------------------- Date: 13-May-92 17:54 PDT From: Charles B. Kramer, Esq. [72600,2026] Subj: Shareware Document Registry Jim, Diana mentioned that you are hoping to find the text of Copyright Office Rule @201.26. Here it is. First is my explanation of it, next is the Copyright Office's explanation of it, and lastly is the Rule itself. Incidentally, I don't know where you quoted this statement from: One favorable result for our industry is that by keeping a license on file with the Copyright office, the defense of "innocent infringement" is denied to a corporate or individual shareware user who later claims that "they were not aware of a license or limitation of use" since they obtained an allegedly hacked or damaged copy of the shareware devoid of licensing restrictions. Unfortunately, it's not true. The best that can be said is "one favorable result for the industry *may* be...." that the innocent infringement defense would fail. In creating the @201.26 Shareware Document Registry, the Copyright Office made clear: "The legal effect of recording a document in the Computer Shareware Registry is at the discretion of the courts." FWIW, in the July BBS CALLERS DIGEST my column discusses BBSs and Shareware. I'll be happy to send you a copy, if you like. And feel free to quote, repost, etc. the following. - Charles FROM AN ARTICLE BY CHARLES KRAMER The Copyright Office permits the recordation of signed documents "pertaining to copyrights", which include copyright assignments, employment and independent contractor agreements (if they specify who will own the copyright in software the employee or contractor writes), and wills (if they specify who will own a copyright upon someone's death). Circular 12 from the Copyright Office explains the procedure and some of the benefits derived from recording such documents. The Copyright Office's procedure for recording signed documents pertaining to copyrights generally doesn't apply to shareware documents since shareware documents are typically not signed. "Shareware", in the view of the Copyright Office, is "copyrighted software which is distributed for the purpose of testing and review... subject to the condition that payment to the copyright owner is required after a person who has secured a copy decides to use the software." In October 1991, the Copyright Office created a separate procedure for recording documents pertaining to shareware. In the words of the Copyright Office, "Recordation in this Registry will establish a public record of licenses or other legal documents governing the relationship between copyright owners of computer share- ware and persons associated with the dissemination or other use of computer shareware.... The legal effect of recording a document in the Computer Shareware Registry is at the discretion of the courts." The documents that can be recorded under this procedure are those, like the "license.doc" files that often accompany share- ware, which govern "the legal relationship between owners of computer shareware and persons associated with the dissemina- tion or other use of computer shareware". Recording shareware related documents is not a substitute for registering the copyright in the shareware program itself, which should be done using the same procedures by which the copyright in other computer programs are registered. COPYRIGHT OFFICE RULE @201.26 -and- the COPYRIGHT OFFICE RELEASE WHICH ANNOUNCED AND EXPLAINED THE RULE Copyright Office Agency: Copyright Office, Library of Congress. 37 CFR Part 201 General Provisions -- Registry of Documents Pertaining to Computer Shareware and the Donation of Public Domain Software 56 FR 50657 October 8, 1991 ACTION: Interim regulations. 1. Background On December 1, 1990, the President signed into law the Judicial Improvements Act of 1990, Public Law 101-650, 104 Stat. 5089 (1990) containing several provisions affecting the copyright law. Section 805 of that Act authorized the creation of a registry of documents "designated as pertaining to computer shareware." In addition, the act authorized the establishment of a voluntary system of deposit of public domain computer software for the benefit of the Machine- Readable Collections Reading Room of the Library of Congress. Section 805 of the Judicial Improvements Act was not codified in the copyright law, and therefore the provisions creating these new systems of records will not be codified in title 17. The provision authorizing creating of the shareware registry accompanies several significant copyright amendments affecting computer software. Most important among these changes was the creation of a rental right for computer programs. In considering these substantive changes in the copyright law with respect to computer programs, a concern was raised that changes in the law might have an unintended adverse impact on the shareware industry. Creation of the Computer Shareware Registry addresses this concern. Shareware is a descriptive term applying to a unique way of marketing copyrighted computer programs. Under a shareware system of marketing, the copyright owner of the computer program permits wide distribution of disks embodying the program in order to allow potential users the opportunity for testing and review. The licensing terms extended to distributors of the disks vary. If a person who has received a disk embodying the program decides to use the software, then that person is required to register the use with the author and pay a registration fee. Authors obtain their income through these registration fees, and, in general, the registration fees are lower than the purchase price for a similar program through commercial channels. The shareware system of marketing software is an increasingly popular way for authors of computer software to enter the software market. The Computer Shareware Registry is intended as a means for notifying the public of the licensing terms applicable to individual programs marketed on a shareware basis. 2. Nature of the Computer Shareware Registry With certain minor modifications, the Computer Shareware Registry is patterned after the Copyright Act's section 205 recordation system, title 17 U.S.C. Only documents clearly designated as "Documents Pertaining to Computer Shareware" will be recorded in the Computer Shareware Registry. Documents not so designated will be treated as section 205 recordations, even if they involve computer programs marketed on a shareware basis. The legal effect of recording a document in the Computer Shareware Registry is at the discretion of the courts. The Copyright Office intends to process Computer Shareware Registry documents in a system separate from ordinary section 205 copyright documents. The catalog records of shareware documents will not be found by searching the Copyright Office History Documents (COHD) files. The creation of the Computer Shareware Registry does not change fundamental copyright principles applying to copyrighted computer programs generally. The Copyright Office strongly urges shareware authors to register their copyright claims in their programs through the usual procedures. Only through prompt registration can authors be assured of statutory damages and attorney's fees under section 412 of title 17. Participation in the Computer Shareware Registry is not a substitute for registration of the claim to copyright. Additionally, documents transferring ownership of the rights under copyright of programs marketed on a shareware basis should be recorded under section 205 rather than solely in the Computer Shareware Registry. For example, if a commercial publisher purchases the rights under copyright to shareware program from the author, the document transferring ownership of rights should be recorded under the section 205 recordation system. In addition, security interests, wills, and bequests regarding programs marketed as shareware should be recorded under section 205. Timely recordation pursuant to 17 U.S.C. 205 is necessary to be assured of constructive notice effect against a subsequent bona fide purchaser of the same rights. An author or copyright owner of computer shareware may, of course, record both under 17 U.S.C. 205 and in the Computer Shareware Registry by fulfilling the different requirements of each recordation system and by paying the recording fees of each. In order to simplify procedures for the public and the Copyright Office, the Office is specifying in the regulation that photocopies of documents or other facsimile reproductions should be submitted rather than original documents. Photocopies or facsimile reproductions will not be returned. If an original document is submitted by mistake, it will not be returned unless specifically requested by the sender. The Office also encourages the submission of a machine- readable copy of the document in ASCII text format on an IBM- PC compatible disk, in addition to the photocopy or facsimile reproduction. 3. Donation of Public Domain Software Copyright is claimed in most computer shareware programs, and they are subject to mandatory deposit under section 407 of title 17, U.S.C. if the program is published in the United States. The law passed by Congress as Public Law 101-650 contains another provision which has the purpose of encouraging donations of public domain software as a gift to the collections of the Machine-Readable Collections Reading Room of the Library of Congress. Persons who believe that selection of certain public domain software by the Library of Congress would serve important national preservation purposes are encouraged to donate software. Whether or not the software is added to the collections is determined solely by the Library of Congress. In order to assist the staff of the Library in evaluating the appropriateness of the deposit for accession to the collections, we request that as much information as possible about the software be included in the submission. The regulations specify the conditions for acceptance of a donation. 4. Regulatory Flexibility Act With respect to the Regulatory Flexibility Act, the Copyright Office takes the position that this Act does not apply to Copyright Office rulemaking. The Copyright Office is a department of the Library of Congress, and is a part of the legislative branch. Neither the Library of Congress nor the Copyright Office is an "agency" within the meaning of the Administrative Procedure Act of June 11, 1946, as amended (Title 5, chapter 5 of the U.S. Code, subchapter II and chapter 7). The Regulatory Flexibility Act consequently does not apply to the Copyright Office since that Act affects only those entities of the Federal Government that are agencies as defined in the Administrative Procedure Act. n1 n 1 The Copyright Office was not subject to the Administrative Procedure Act before 1976, and it is now subject to it only in areas specified by section 701(d) of the Copyright Act (i.e. "all actions taken by the Register of Copyrights under this title (17)," except with respect to the making of copies of copyright deposits). (17 U.S.C. 706(b)). The Copyright Act does not make the Office an "agency" as defined in the Administrative Procedure Act. For example, personnel actions taken by the Office are not subject to APA-FOIA requirement. Alternatively, if it is later determined by a court of competent jurisdiction that the Copyright Office is an "agency" subject to the Regulatory Flexibility Act, the Register of Copyrights has determined and hereby certifies that this regulation will have no significant impact on small businesses. List of Subjects in 37 CFR Part 201 Computer shareware registry; Computer programs copyright. Interim Regulations In consideration of the foregoing, the Copyright Office amends part 201 of 37 CFR, chapter II in the manner set forth below. PART 201 -- [AMENDED] 1. The authority citation for part 201 continues to read as follows: Authority: Section 702, 90 Stat. 2541; 17 U.S.C. 702; @ 201.26 is also issued under Public Law 101-650, 104 Stat. 5089, 5136-37. ***************************************************************** @ 201.26 ITSELF STARTS HERE ***************************************************************** 2. A new @ 201.26 is added as follows: @ 201.26 Recordation of Documents Pertaining to Computer Shareware and Donation of Public Domain Computer Software. (a) General. This section prescribes the procedures for submission of legal documents pertaining to computer shareware and the deposit of public domain computer software under section 805 of Public Law 101-650, 104 Stat. 5089 (1990). Documents recorded in the Copyright Office under this regulation will be included in the Computer Shareware Registry. Recordation in this Registry will establish a public record of licenses or other legal documents governing the relationship between copyright owners of computer shareware and persons associated with the dissemination or other use of computer shareware. Documents transferring the ownership of some or all rights under the copyright law of computer software marketed as shareware and security interests in such software should be recorded under section 205 of title 17, as implemented by @ 201.4 of these regulations. (b) Definitions. (1) The term computer shareware is accorded its customary meaning within the software industry. In general, shareware is copyrighted software which is distributed with relatively few restrictions for the purpose of testing and review, subject to the condition that payment to the copyright owner is required after a person who has secured a copy decides to use the software. (2) A document designated as pertaining to computer shareware means licenses or other legal documents governing the relationship between copyright owners of computer shareware and persons associated with the dissemination or other use of computer shareware. (3) Public domain computer software means software which has been publicly distributed with an explicit disclaimer of copyright protection by the copyright owner. (c) Forms. The Copyright Office does not provide forms for the use of persons recording documents designated as pertaining to computer shareware or for the deposit of public domain computer software. (d) Recordable Documents. (1) Any document clearly designated as a "Document Pertaining to Computer Shareware" and which governs the legal relationship between owners of computer shareware and persons associated with the dissemination or other use of computer shareware may be recorded in the Computer Shareware Registry. (2) Submitted documents must be a legible photocopy or other legible facsimile reproduction of a document containing the signature of the copyright owner of the computer shareware. Original documents should not be submitted. (3) The photocopies or facsimile reproductions will not be returned. If an original document is submitted by mistake, it will not be returned unless specifically requested by the sender. (4) The Copyright Office encourages the submission of a machine-readable copy of the document in the form of an IBM-PC compatible disk, in addition to the photocopy or facsimile reproduction. (e) Fee. For a document covering no more than one title, the basic recording fee is $20. An additional charge of $10.00 is made for each group of not more than 10 titles. For these purposes the term "title" refers to each computer shareware program covered by the document. (f) Date of recordation. The date of recordation is the date when all of the elements required for recordation, including the prescribed fee have been received in the Copyright Office. After recordation of the statement, the sender will receive a certificate of record from the Copyright Office. The submission will be retained and filed by the Copyright Office, and may be destroyed at a later date after preparing suitable copies, in accordance with usual procedures. (g) Donation of public domain computer software. (1) Any person may donate a copy of public domain computer software for the benefit of the Machine-Readable Collections Reading Room of the Library of Congress. Decision as to whether any public domain computer software is suitable for accession to the collections rests solely with the Library of Congress. Materials not selected will be disposed of in accordance with usual procedures, including transfer to other libraries, sale, or destruction. Donation of public domain software may be made regardless of whether a document has been recorded pertaining to the software. (2) In order to donate public domain software, the following conditions must be met: (i) The copy of the public domain software must contain an explicit disclaimer of copyright protection from the copyright owner. (ii) The submission should contain documentation regarding the software. If the documentation is in machine-readable form, a print-out of the documentation should be included in the donation. (iii) If the public domain software is marketed in a box or other packaging, the entire work as distributed, including the packaging, should be deposited. (iv) If the public domain software is copy protected, two copies of the software must be submitted. (3) Donations of public domain software with an accompanying letter of explanation must be sent to the following address: Gift Section, Exchange & Gift Division, Library of Congress, Washington, DC 20540. Dated: September 23, 1991. Ralph Oman, Register of Copyrights. ----------------------------------------------------------------- from Michael Yu, FantasySoft, ----------------------------------------------------------------- 3245 Rocky Water ln, San Jose, CA 95148 Press release from FantasySoft -- SHAREWARE IN ASIA Shareware is becoming more and more popular in U.S. . But, what about in Asia? IBM PC compatible are very popular in Hong Kong and Taiwan. People there have the knowledge of many advanced computer techniques as well as the news of commercial products. But "shareware" seems to be a stranger in there mind. During this christmas, I had done a survey in my home country - Hong Kong. 326 people ranging from 16 - 55 year-old had been asked the following questions: 1, Do you know the term "shareware"? I 'd never heard about that before... ----- 31% I 'd heard that term before, but I do not understand what it is. ----- 24% I think it is the same as "freeware", because it said 'share'... ----- 22% Shareware ... if we like it, this is upon us to register... ----- 19% Shareware registration is required by law. ----- others 2, Have you ever used shareware before? May be (I didn't know whether it was shareware or not)... ----- 42% Yes ----- 53% No ----- others 3, Have you ever used programs like Virus Scan, Pkzip or Lharc? Yes ----- 92% No ----- others 4, How do you like shareware? They are usually small programs. ----- 47% They have quite good features. ----- 66% They usually have poor screens as well as poor graphics. ----- 51% If they are good, why don't they be distributed as commercial software?! ----- 53% 5, If you know that shareware registration is required by law, will you register? Why? >> I won't register... ----- 70% (!) because: a, Register to foreign countries like US, UK ... too far away.... Will the author really send me the registered version? What about phone support? ----- 71% b, Registration fee must be in US fund, very inconvenient. ----- 65% c, Only the foolish guy will register! Who will enforce that law? Hong Kong is far away from those western countries. How can the author know that I am using his program without registration? ----- 59% d, Those programs have no limitation. Is registration necessary for us? ----- 43% >> I have considered about that, but at last I gave up ... ----- 24% Reasons similar to those above. >> I will register... ----- others because: a, We should be honest people... the authors deserve the fees!!! b, We use it in our company. We don't want to do anything against law. (* These people told me that they would register. But I didn't know whether they would really do it or not... ) 6, Have you ever registered before? Yes ----- 0% No ----- 100% 7, Have you read the document file provided by the author which is about to explain the principle of shareware as well as the importance to register before using the program? Yes ----- 32% No ----- others because: I didn't need the intructions. Why should I read it? ----- 65% I didn't know that there were DOC files containing the intructions as well as the registration information. ----- others 8, Continue from 7,. If Yes, will you read those information carefully? Yes, because I want to know what it is about... ----- 58% Yes, because I may consider registering... ----- 4% No, I only want to read the software instructions. ----- others From the results, in my opinion, the shareware principle can hardly work in Hong Kong. Besides the reasons mentioned before, since people in Hong Kong as well as Taiwan can obtain all kinds of software (including commercial software) easily by illegal copying, they will not consider using shareware if registration is required. In Hong Kong, nearly 80% of the software retail stores are not selling the original packages, but to copy the software for the customers. The lowest price of copying one 360k disk can be as low as HK$3 (US$0.40)! They have all kinds of commercial software available: games like King Quest V, Wing commander, applications like clipper, paradox, MS-DOS 5.0 ... etc. That means people can copy these software at very low price, so they won't consider shareware which requires registration. Moreover, since the average income of people in Hong Kong and Taiwan are relatively low in compare to those in USA, UK, and there is no such thing like social security benefit, so the purchasing power of the people are not high enough to afford the registration fee of US$15,US$30 or US$45... Average monthly income per person (lower and middle classes) in Hong Kong: about HK$6000 ---> US$750 % of lower and middle classes in the total population: above 80% That's why I am sure that the shareware principle as well as the honor system can never be success in HONG KONG and TAIWAN. SO, WHAT CAN WE DO? CASE STUDY -- Softworld in Taiwan --------------------------------- A couple of years ago, a lot of game publishers like Sierra, Taito, Microprose, Origin... found out that the market in Asia was very attractive. They made agreements with a Taiwan company -- the Softworld to be their agent in Taiwan. Softworld got their games and created customized packing with chinese descriptions as well as chinese instruction manuals for the games. Softworld did the reproduction in Taiwan, so to avoid high labor cost. Nowadays, the business seems to be successful. Both the game publishers and Softworld gain a lot. And now, Softworld are going to have a branch in Thailand. It also has an agent in Hong Kong to sell their products. The reasons Softworld can succeed: 1, The price is low enough to beat the illegal copies and to meet the purchasing power of the customers: from US$5 to US$20. 2, Chinese manual can help users who are weak in English. FantasySoft is now trying to open the market in Hong Kong and Taiwan for the REGISTERED VERSION of shareware (I myself will have a trip to Hong Kong this summer to prepare for this). Our policy will be: 1, The retail price will be lower than the registration price in U.S., in order to meet their purchasing power and to beat the illegal copies. Range from HK$50 (US$6) to HK$250 (US$32). 2, The site licensing price will be the same as those in U.S.. 3, We will handle all the reproduction processes. We will promote the registered version exactly in the way like promoting commercial software. 4, We have good connections with the large stores which are located in densily populated shopping area. Large circulation guaranteed! 5, We will not ask for any upfront money from the authors. We will not pay any 'licensing fees' to the authors. But we are going to share the profits with the authors. (How to share? We will be glad to hear from you, as well as your opinions.) VERY SIMPLE. YOU GRANT US THE EXCLUSIVE RIGHT TO DISTRIBUTE THE REGISTERED VERSION OF YOUR PROGRAM IN HONG KONG (AND TAIWAN IF POSSIBLE). WE WILL HANDLE ALL ASPECTS OF THE SALES, AND WE ARE GOING TO SHARE THE PROFITS WITH YOU. HONG KONG AND TAIWAN ARE DENSILY POPULATED AREAS. THEY HAVE LARGE 'COMPUTER POPULATIONS'. ALTHOUGH THE PRICE WILL BE RELATIVELY LOW IN COMPARE TO THOSE IN US AND UK, WE CAN SELL OUT MORE VERY FAST. For more informaion, fax to us at 408-2704596 or write to us at: FANTASYSOFT OVERSEAS DISTRIBUTION 3245 ROCKY WATER LN, SAN JOSE, CA 95148, USA. Authors from UK, Canada or other countries are welcomed. ---------------------------------------------------------------- Press release from FantasySoft -- DAGAZINE ---------------------------------------------------------------- DAGAZINE---SECTION 1 -------------------- Many major vendors can receive hundreds of submissions per week. After the selection has been made, a lot of authors will be disappointed when they are notified that their submissions were turned down. It is hard to determine whether a program is good/suitable for distribution or not. Different results come from different points of view. The vendors may turn your submission down due to many reasons, regardless of the quality. Sometimes you think that your idea can succeed while the librarians do not. FantasySoft are now going to help these authors. DAGAZINE, a monthly disk magazine which will hopefully be published in December, and will be distributed as shareware and commercial ware, will help you in the following way: We will accept all kinds of submission unless your program fails to meet these requirements: a, No bugs b, Will not cause damage to user's hardware c, Virus-free d, Will not accidentally destroy the data stored in the hard disk e, seldom hang the machine f, has been carried by less than 40 vendors. or has not been carried by any vendor before. Along with your master disk, you MUST include the following information in an ASCII file: Program title Author name Address Day phone, evening phone (Fax and Modem number if possible) Completed written permission (see the end of this press release) A detailed description of your program What is the intended user of your program? Why did you believe that your program can be accepted by the market? A list of features of your program, each with explanation A list of functions available in your program Registration information ATTENTION: The readers will register directly with you. So, prepare the registration information precisely. >> How do we include your program in the DAGAZINE? CATEGORY I: Programs which have smaller sizes (less than 170k after compression) will be published in the DAGAZINE directly. CATEGORY II: Programs which have larger sizes, or which cannot be put into the DAGAZINE due to space limit, will be put into the DAGAZINE DISK LIBRARY for our readers to order separately. ( So, remember to send us your shareware disk! ) >> How do we promote your program in the DAGAZINE? FOR CATEGORY I: We will test the program and check the description to see whether they match or not. We will write a report* on your program (may make use of the data from your ASCII file if found valid), capture some major screens, and then create a detailed review with text and graphics in DAGAZINE. Normally we will put 4 to 5 programs from this category into the DAGAZINE everytime. Once we have desided to put your program into a specific issue of DAGAZINE, we will contact you at once and ask for your contribution. Your contribution to DAGAZINE will be US$ 40 (for mailing the master disks of that issue of DAGAZINE to the disk vendors. We are planning to use the Disk Mailing Service from Shareable software). No other contribution is needed. FOR CATEGORY II: We will test the program and check the description to see whether they match or not. We will write a report* on your program (and make use of the data from your ASCII file if found valid), capture some major screens, and then create a detailed review with text and graphics in DAGAZINE. We will include the review of your program in the DAGAZINE. We will suggest the readers to order the trial disk of your program from our DAGAZINE DISK LIBRARY. And if he/she decide to register with you after trying the trial disk ordered from us, you MUST give him/her a 20% discount. That is the only thing you have to contribute to DAGAZINE. No other contribution is needed. * The report will be written from our third person point of view, while your own point will also be listed, in order to present your program in a much fair way. FOR MORE INFORMATION / SUBMISSION, SEND THE MATERIAL TO: FANTASYSOFT, 3245 ROCKY WATER LN, SAN JOSE, CA 95148, USA. DAGAZINE---section II "Treasure for programmers" ---------------------------------------------------------- If there are some software tools which can facilitate the programming work, we will be able to spend more time on marketing the program. Tools like Raster Master, Screen Designer and Turbo Scredit are invaluable to the shareware authors, while many authors do not know what those tools are. DAGAZINE will have an 'author oriented' session called "Treasure for programmers". We hereby request the authors of those kind of programming tools to send us their disks, in order to support this session. Again, we will create detailed reports on the tools (remember to send us your registration information). DAGAZINE---section III "Shareware gaming world" ---------------------------------------------------------- Reviews on the shareware games available in the market. And if you have written a new game recently, please send it to us for an introduction in the "New release forum"! Also, if you have any hints, clues,or even ideas..., please send them to us! In return, you will receive free subscription of DAGAZINE!!! DAGAZINE---section IV, V or VI ... will be announced later... Everything is URGENT!!! So, please send us your submission to support D A G A Z I N E !!! ---------------------------------------------------------------- Press release from FantasySoft --- C.A.I. SHAREWARE ---------------------------------------------------------------- FantasySoft is a newly founded software developer. It itself is not a company, but a small department of a very small media workshop. We are now presenting the first of our new Computer Aided Instruction series shareware: Q b a s e V1.0 s ============================ Who is Qbase for? Qbase is for teachers who always have to create test papers, quizes for their students. What is Qbase for? Qbase is a program which allows you to enter and store both multiple choices (you can have 3 to 5 choices in each question) and true/false questions. It can print out a list of questions stored. Whenever you want to create a test for the class, just key in the code of the corresponding questions, and Qbase will print out the test for you! Qbase also allows you to store the answers of the corresponding questions and to create a customized header for your test paper. What makes Qbase different from its competitors? Nowadays most of the applications in the market can provide a lot of skillful functions. But at the same time, they become more and more complicated, and they seem to have too many functions, too many! They are difficult for those non-computer literate users to use. They may even make the users scare! In fact, the requirements of the users may be very simple. What the users demand for is a easy-to-use simple application which can serve their simple purposes as convenient as possible. Qbase is designed especially for this kind of users. Users can make all the choices in the menus. Easy! Simple! Make users comfortable! No need to memorize any command! For information, send SASE to : FantasySoft, Qbase inquiry, 3245 Rocky Water Ln, San Jose, CA 95148, USA * * * * * * * * * I believe that C.A.I. software will become our focus in the future. Both commercial & shareware vendors are welcomed. Upcoming new "EASY-TO-USE" shareware products from FantasySoft: >>> Library Master: managing all aspects of the library by your PC!!! >>> Qbase for Windows: the Window version of Qbase!!! >>> Gbase: keep track of the grading of your students. Also allows the calculation of marks and grades. ---------------------------------------------------------------- Letter from FantasySoft ---------------------------------------------------------------- Dear Mr. Jim Hood, I'm ashamed that our shareware distribution stuff has been delayed due to various difficulties. Everything is going on quite well, and hopefuly the professionally packed shareware disks from FantasySoft will appear in the racks of many software stores in late November. I hereby want to say thanks to BOXER SOFTWARE, CONTACT PLUS CORP., FLIX PRODUCTION, Mr. JIMHOOD, PROGRESSIVE SOLUTION INC., WILSON WINDOWWARE, PROMINENCE, DROEGE COMPUTING SERVICE, APOGEE SOFTWARE, ALCHEMY MINDWORKS, HOOPER INTERNATIONAL and FACTS ONLINE for there master disks. Thank you! WE CANNOT GURANTEE THAT OUR PROMOTION METHODS CAN BRING YOU (THE AUTHORS) AND OURSELVES SUCCESS. BUT, WE WILL TRY OUR BEST TO DO SO. WHY DON'T PEOPLE BUY SHAREWARE? ------------------------------- I found out that many computer users do not have incentive to buy shareware, simply because they thought that: " 'Shareware' looks and sounds cheap. If they have good quality, they will certainly be distributed as commercial software." WHY DON'T PEOPLE KNOW THE ADVANTAGES OF SOME GOOD SHAREWARE PROGRAMS? --------------------------------------------------------------------- I know that there are a lot of shareware programs available in the market. Many of them are very good. But, who tells the customers about the advantages of those programs? In fact, many programs can be 'best sellers' if there features are being told to the buyers. Catalog may be a good instrument to present the programs' features to the customers. But, some distributers are too large in scale that they have too many titles in there catalogs. Will you take care of a small introduction to a program which occupys only 1/10 of a page when you read it? It certainly cannot attract attention from the readers. Just like a large distributor, it has so many titles to take care of that it cannot spend time to promote a single title effectively. WHY ARE THE BEGINNERS AFRAID OF USING SHAREWARE? ------------------------------------------------ Besides, many buyers (especially those beginners) find shareware difficult to use. How/what to decompress? Where is the 'readme' file? How to type it out? Which command should I use? THE MARKETING METHOD OF FANTASYSOFT ----------------------------------- FantasySoft 's "shareware promotion plan for the top programs" has the following features: 1, Concentrate on very few titles that have good quality. 2, Each title will be given a customized packing, with detailed descriptions, so to build up a 'high' image of the program. We are trying to promote the shareware in the way same as promoting a single commercial software ( of course we will not print out the manual of the program ). WE WILL TRY OUR BEST TO DISCOVER AND PRESENT THE ADVANTAGES OF EACH PROGRAM WE ARE GOING TO DISTRIBUTE!!! 3, Distributed in the racks of the software stores. I know that many people do not trust the mail order companies. 4, Make everything simple. We do not have high-tech installation utility to decompress the program. We will only provide a small batch file to help decompressing the program (many users have trouble decompressing the compressed programs), with a simple printed guideline to tell the users which command should be used in order to decompress the program. We are trying to be more "friendly". 5, To include a short paragraph of printed material in every package to teach the buyer the principle of shareware , as well as to state clearly who is the author/copyright owner of the program. 6, Help collecting users' comments on the shareware by giving discount on future purchases to those who send us the comments. We'll then send the comments to the corresponding author, as well as a report on information like the amount distributed...etc. " WE CANNOT GUARANTEE THAT OUR PROMOTION METHODS CAN BRING YOU (THE AUTHORS) AND OURSELVES SUCCESS. BUT, WE WILL TRY OUR BEST TO DO SO. " THE DIFFICULTIES FANTASYSOFT HAS TO FACE ---------------------------------------- But, as I mentioned before, we have to face a lot of difficulties. Firstly, we have to spend a lot of time to design customized packing for each program. Secondly, the cost will be pushed high due to the 'customized packing' and the commission (40% usually) given to the stores!!! Finally, the most important thing is that we have to make arrangement with the stores. Many computer stores refuse to sell shareware, because they thought that shareware is "cheap"! I hope that our 'customized professional packing' can alter their points of view towards shareware. LIMITATIONS ON SHAREWARE PROGRAMS --------------------------------- Nowadays many shareware authors issue some limitations to their programs. e.g. Apogee only distribute the first episode of their games as shareware, Astro (by Chris Noyes) has delays ...etc. In my opinion, this kind of limitations is absolutely acceptable. The limitations can never prevent the users from discovering the advantages of the programs. If I am an honest person, and if I find that program useful, I will send the registration fee to the author in order to get the limitation-free version, regardless of whether there are limitations in the trial disk or not. The limitations will have no negative effect to the honest users, while they can annoy those who would never register! I myself is a shareware author, too. Sometimes I have the feeling that " If we do not have some protections, we may become the world's most foolish guys, who work and make money for some of the distributors." We have to know that many shareware buyers like to have shareware with no limitation, and can be used forever without the needs to register!!! Shareware that have no delay and no limitation are their favourites. They would like to purchase disks from distributors which refuse to accept shareware with limitations. Sometimes I really doubt the aims of some of the distributors which claim to accept 'limitation-free' and 'delay-free' shareware only. Are they going to protect the shareware principle? the honest users? or the dishonest users as well as their own distribution fees? At least I am sure that they do not tend to protect us, the authors! I know that the shareware principle works under the honor system only. But I also believe that the shareware authors can survive only if the honor system works well! Enclosed is my new program -- Qbase V1.0s, which is for the school teachers. Comments on it will be greatly appreciated. Yours sincerely Yu Michael FantasySoft 25th May 92. ---------------------------------------------------------------- Letter from Software Express ---------------------------------------------------------------- Blaine Johns Software Support Specialist RBJ Software Express 3880 Kiesel Ave Ogden, UT 84405 801/399-1100, FAX: 801/393-8124 Dear Shareware Author, I am writing to introduce you to RBJ Software Express and to ask permission to distribute your shareware products. At RBJ Software Express we distribute shareware and retail programs through a retail store front, mail order, and retail store displays. We are also working with Iomega Corporation (manufacturer of the Bernoulli Disk and Disk Drive) in distributing a 90 megabyte shareware and demonstration disk to each of their new customers. Copies of this 90 megabyte disk could be sent to over 20,000 computers users within the next year. We are always seraching for quality shareware programs to feature on this disk as well as to distribvute through our mail order catalogs and retail outlets. If you would like to have any of your shareware programs considered for distribution with our company, please submit a master disk of your program(s) and a permission to distribute letter (your own letter or you may use the form provided) to our address above. Our catalog will be going to print on May 26, 1992. I would appreciate having your permission to distribute forms and your master disk in our store by May 20, 1992 to be considered for the Summer/Fall catalog. Since we are always updating and adding to our catalog and displays, we would appreciate it if you would also add our name to your mailing list and when you have an update or a new program to distribute, please send us a copy as soon as possible. If you have any questions, feel free to call between 10AM to 7PM Mountain Standard Time. Blain Johns ---------------------------------------------------------------- Letter from PC Software Publishing ---------------------------------------------------------------- Mr. Lee Kim Hye, General Manager PC Software Publishing 372-K Lorong 1, Hilir Garden Ujong Pasir, Melaka 75050 Malaysia Dear Shareware Professionals and Friends, Greetings. Allow me to introduce ourselves. PC Software Publishing is an Associate Member and approved vendor of the Association of Shareware Professionals in good standing since June 1991. PC Sofware Publishing is also a wholly-owned subsidiary of Lee Consolidatred Investments Sdn Bhd (also known as LCI Sdn Bhd) an investment company in several fiedls such as engineering and construction, office equipment & peripherals, printing (computer forms) and desktop publishing. Total investments in LCI Sdn Bhd is close to US $2 million with an annual turnover of over US $6 million for the year ending December 1991. PC Software Publishing was incorporated to meet the increasing needs for computer sofwtware targeted at middle and lower income groups. We also distribute commercially marketed software to meet various needs of individuals and coprorate users. Our four strategic outlets in Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Melaka and Johor Bahru provide sales and sofware support to our customers throughout this country. Each store has a minimum display area of about 1,500 sq ft. and is run by at least 6 sales personnel per store, excluding the Retail Manager. We are also the biggest distributor in terms of disk sales for this region. Our business expansion plans include opening outlets in Singapore and Indonesia as we are now receiving inquiries from users in these coutnries. We are currently looking for suitable local partners in these countries. The shareware disks are sold for only M$2.50 (US$1.00 equals M$2.55). and we make it clear to our customers that the disks purchased are subject to a nominal registration fee if the software is used after the trial period. This notice is clearly printed on the disk cover and labels. After the trial period our PR department will contact our customers to get feedback on whether the software is useful and if they intend to use it further. We also encourage them to send the registration fee to the author directly to compensate the author for the effort involved in writing the program. This small reminder on our part does help to get registrations for your software. It also indirectly helps to promote the concept of shareware. Currently we do not provide registration services as it means setting up another department to account for your registrations. We will however consider it if there are sufficient authors who want this service or if we are paid a nominal commission for collecting and remitting you your registrations. I personally believe all software has a place in our library. I know a lot of time has been put to writing these programs and your effort is wasted if your distribution channel is limited to only your local market. A diversified market will also protect your work and income (possible the only source of income) against recession and market saturation. While other parts of the world are experiencing a major recession with some big companies going through Chapter 11 proceedings, this region has been experiencing a favorable growth rate of more tha 8% with billions of dollars of off-shore investments from Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, the USA and EC nations. This acts as an insurance cover for you providing more secure and stable sales and also acts as a second line of defense against economic uncertainties. Generally, the Malaysian computer user is asware of the quality of software which is marketed through shareware channels. We advertise quite extensively and we can bundle your software with the computers sold by our outlets. Of course we have to explain to our customers the concept of shareware and their obligations to register if they continue to use your programs. PC Computing has also included PC Software Publishing in their latest publication on shareware and we have received numerous inquiries from others in this region (including queries from neighboring countries) regarding shareware software. This is great advertisng for both of us. If you are interested in sending us your software, kindlly read our submission and distrubtion policy. This will help us reduce unneccesary costs on both sides. I can personally assure you that your software will always have a place in our library. Do keep in touch with us should you move to a different location. Sometimes it is quite difficult to locate an author who has moved without giving their new forwarding address. Some of our customers have complained regarding undelivered mail. You could lose your chance of registrration should you fail to keep us informed about your whereabouts. Finally, thank you for your support and we look forward to mutually beneficial business together. I'm sure with our corporate background and financial strength, your alliance with us will be a frutiful one. Do drop us a note if you are not interested and we will permanently delete your name and address from our database. Submission Policy: 1. Software submission is invited from all software authors to place their software in our software library. 2. Please send us your latest version of the program. If you have released a newer version or newer program, kindly send the programs promptly so that our library can be updated. 3. Your program must not be crippled or copy protected in any way. 4. Where possible include a short description (restricted to about 100 words) about your program (preferrably in the file DESCRIBE.DOC). This is important as it will be printed on the disk cover. A nicely worded description often helps to sell your software. We could do a short write-up for you, but nobody knows better than the author himself. We could mess things up instead of helping. 5. Please give us credit for distriubting your product. A short note in VENDOR.DOC to say that you have given us permission to distribute your software will suffice. 6. In order to save costs for both of us, kindly observe the following: a. Submit your programs on 3.5 inch diskettes - use 1.44MB diskettes if your program does not fit into a 720K diskette. We can process diskettes from 360K to 1.44 MB disk format. The reason why we require you to send us your program on 3.5 inch disk format is because the 3.5 inch format is more durable than the 5.25 inch disk. The hard plastic cover of the 3.5 inch disks more than offsets the costs involved. We have receivd badly damaged disks before and it is a real waste of effort and time. Most of these disks cannot be recovered as physical damage has already been done. If we receive a bad disk, it will cost you additional postage to send us a replacement disk. It also means a loss of time to get your product into the market. For just a few cents extra, it will save both of us a lot of agony. b. If you have sevceral programs which you want us to distribute, please compress the programs into archives (use standard conventions such as LHA or PKZIP and try to fit the archives into a single disk. Use 1.44 MD disk to reduce the number of disks and additional postage. We will extract your programs as per your instructions onto a standard 360K diskette. c. If there is ample space on your disk, you may want to share the disk will your colleagues for firends, who may want to submit their work to us. This will make efficient use of the disk space and indireclty helps to reduce your cost. Please include a short note to tell us that there are other programs which do not belong to you. If required, we will contact the respective authors to obtain their approval to distribute their softwarre. The programs will be extracted to separate 360K diskettes unless otherwise stated. d. You may use an ordinary envelope and secure the edges of the envelope with cellophane tape. This eliminates the use of floppy disk mailers. e. Postage cost for a single 3.5 inch diskette is about US$1.34 by airmail if posted in the USA using an ordinary envelope. It might be higher if you're using a floppy disk mailer due to the extra weight of packing material. It takes roughly about 7 to 9 working days for your mail to be forwarded and we will send you a card to acknowledge receipt of your package. Your total cost for a single submission is about US$2.50 (inclusive of a 3.5 inch diskette) which is a real bargain to get into the Far East Market. f. Wherever possible, please send the package WITHOUT the customs declaration form (PS form 2976). This saves us valuable time and money as we do not have to go to our customs department which is lcoated about 150 KM from our main adminstrative office. If it is unavoidable, please declare only the cost of the media involved. Please do not declare the value based on your registraton fees. We will have to incur import tax (15.5%) on the value of product and shipping. This can be quite substantial after converting to our local currency, and certainly we will reject the package. g. Some authors require us to sign a distribution license agreement. We will be happy to enter into an agreement with you if this requirement is a pre-requisite. In order to save time, please sumbit your distribution license agreement together with your software. We will send back the complete agreement within 7 (seven) days after receiving your package. h. All submissions must be addressed to the address at the top of this letter. Distribution Policy 1. Programs are distributed on 360K disks. 2. Your programs will not be bundled with other programs in similar category or in competing nature even though there is space on the disk except if specifically permitted by you in writing. 3. Disks are sold at M$2.50 (less than US$1.00.) 4. Only the latest veersion will be made available immediately to our customers. Older versions will be removed from our shelves and replaced with the newer version with one (1) week of receipt of your software. 5. Printed documentation will not be packaged with the disks. 6. Each program will be packaged in a sealed colorful diskette cover made of hard board and shrink-wrapped to give an attractive and professional finish. A short description of the program will be attached on the front side of the cover to advertise your software. Obligation to pay for the softrware will be printed on the disk labels and at the back of the disk cover. 7. Sufficient notice must be given if you decide to withdraw your programs from the market. All distribution and master disks will be removed and destroyed within 30 days of receipt of your notice of withdrawal. ████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████ Please note that older letters from previous editions of SMS, many with HIGHLY valuable marketing information, have been moved to the SMS archives disk. See the GOODIES section of SMS for information on ordering this archived material. ████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████