Elite Boards The idea of a Public Library has long been the excuse for Elite BBS s to distribute pirated software Many may wonder where this all originated from A while ago a BBS was busted for the distribution or pirated software They succesfully used the Public Library idea Since then this idea has not worked well Although it is possible to get away using this excuse it is no longer likely I have looked up the exact law regarding the Checkout period and other things Section 201 24 Warning of copyright for software lending by nonprofit Libraries (a) Definition A Warning of Copyright for Software Rental is a notice under paragraph (b)(2)(A) of section 109 of the Copyright Act title 17 of the United States Code as amended by the Computer Software Rental Amendments Act of 1990 Public Law 101-650 As required by that paragraph the Warning of Copyright for Software Rental shall be affixed to the packaging that contains the computer program which is lent by a nonprofit library for nonprofit purposes (b) Contents A Warning of Copyright for Software Rental shall consist of a verbatim reproduction of the following notice printed in such size and form and affixed in such manner as to comply with paragraph (c) of this section Notice Warning of Copyright Restrictions The copyright law of the United States (Title 17 United States Code) governs the reproduction distribution adaptation public performance and public display of copyrighted material Under certain conditions specified in law nonprofit libraries are authorized to lend lease or rent copies of computer programs to patrons on a nonprofit basis and for nonprofit purposes Any person who makes an unauthorized copy or adaptation of the computer program or redistributes the loan copy or publicly performs or displays the computer program except as permitted by title 17 of the United States Code may be liable for copyright infringement This institution reserves the right to refuse to fulfill a loan request if in its judgement fulfillment of the request would lead to violation of the copyright law (c) Form and manner of use A Warning of Copyright for Software Rental shall be affixed to the packaging that contains the copy of the computer program which is the subject of a library loan to patrons by means of a label cemented gummed or otherwise durably attached to the copies or to a box reel cartridge cassette or other container used as a permanent recepticle for the copy of the computer program The notice shall be printed in such manner as to be clearly legible comprehensible and readily apparent to a casual user of the computer program Dated February 14 1991 Ralph Oman Register of Copyrights Approved by James H Billington The Librarian of Congress Well there it is it is legal to distribute copies or registered programs BUT there are many stipulations Although most boards need not worry since the major companies are mainly concerned with the people that copy thousands of programs and then sell them overseas Fight the Power! -AAA 94