Quote:
B. Why Abandonware is technically software piracy
According to U.S. Law and International Treaties, a copyright belongs to the author of a software product for 50 years beyond the life of the author or 75 years after the copyright date if the work is done by a corporation. Before that time expires, nobody (except the author) has the right to copy that piece of software.
A corporation is defined as an independent entity (like a person) and as an independent entity, it can hold a copyright (like a person). (However, it can't vote like a person)
Most of the software copyrights out there are held by corporations. (Microsoft, Sierra, Microprose, etc.) Therefore, nobody has the right to copy a software product held by the corporation for 75 years after the copyright date.
If a person is caught copying a piece of software that has a copyright that he/she does not own, then he/she is found in violation of copyright law and is subject to civil and criminal penalties. The Software Publishing Association (SPA) is an organization whose goal is to find and catch people who violate software copyrights.
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Taken from Everything2.
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