[M3devel] [Fwd: Re: "Systems Programming With Modula-3" available?]

[hendrik at topoi.pooq.com]

On Sun, Mar 15, 2009 at 07:22:59PM -0500, Martin Bishop wrote:
> This is the email (and response) I got from Greg Nelson.

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> Reply-To: greg at perlnelson.org
> Subject: Re: "Systems Programming With Modula-3" available?
> From: Greg Nelson <gnelson at gmail.com>
> To: Martin Bishop <martinbishop at bellsouth.net>
> 
> I haven't studied the contract with Prentice-Hall, but I'm afraid it
> is bound to give them the copyright.  I have asked them before to
> please print a second edition.  I will try again.  If they refuse, I'm
> not sure there is anything I can do to help.  But in case it is of any
> help to you, I will remark that II think that the TeX sources for the
> book are stored among the publicly released Modula-3 packages.

Which puts the whole thing in a difficult legal position.  If the rights 
were given away under the original Modula-3 license, just what did 
Prentice-Hall buy, what did they think they bought, and what legal 
position will that put Greg?  And if they were sold to Prentice-Hall 
before they were given away, just what was given away?

And if Prentice-Hall refuses even to reprint and the book has been years 
out of pront, what rights revert to Greg?  There are standard contract 
terms here (which Prentice hall may not have used) and there is 
applicable law, which varies from country to country.  For example, 
Canadian law permits some copying of entire books under some 
circumstance if they are permanently out of print....

Even if Prentice-Hall refuses, they may be willing to return the rights 
to a book they have no intention of ever reprinting.

-- hendrik