Hi everyone,

Before I left to become a gambler, I was in the business side of the software industry. I have quite a bit of experience negotiating contracts related to software use, source-code escrow, reseller and OEM agreements, etc. I've been giving the empeg source code situation a lot of thought recently.

It seems to me that the empeg software may be considered (but some) old enough to not contain significant trade secrets at this point (this is no way a disparagement, just a comment about how business-folks may see it). I can imagine some business reasons that could be used to justify making the source accessible, with certain limitations, to the empeg enthusiast community, possibly as a non-profit donation, or some other approach.

I am very comfortable approaching the executives of the corporations controlling the IP rights to the source and having a business conversation with them about the idea of this. Before doing so, I would want to understand the ownership and licensing situation in some detail. My understanding is that the empeg software used libraries from at least one third-party company with whom the current owners of the empeg source do not have a license agreement. In principle, that doesn't really represent an impossible problem, it would "just" mean that a separate agreement would need to be made with the third parties.

An attorney friend of mine (also an empeg enthusiast) could assist me with creating a non-profit organization that could act as the legally responsible entity for the licensing agreements. That organization should consist of a board ideally composed of those that would control and monitor access to the source.

My questions for those on this BBS:

1. Assuming such an agreement could be reached, is this desireable? I believe there are several very talented software engineers in this community who could do real magic if they got their hands on the empeg source. What I don't know is if they'd want to... I am certain that access would mean that the IP could be used exclusively for enhancing functionality of the empeg and not for developing anything of one's own.

2. What is the ownership status of the IP, and what third parties are invovled?

I know from personal experience that things like this are possible. I've been on both sides of similar negotiations. They can be a bit complex, but they are possible. I am willing to volunteer my time and experience to setting up an organization and then representing it to obtain access to the code.

The key is to approach the problem from a business point of view rather than get bogged down in technical details. The starting point is the position that the software is technically obsolete, so why not make it available on a semi-restricted basis to enthusiasts, or even an open-source basis (like I said, this is the starting point)? Especially if one could take a tax deduction for donating this access? I don't particularly want to argue the technical points of whether this is true, and I'd prefer that this thread not go in that direction.

That said, it *is* important to understand exactly what would be required from a technical point of view to make the result usable by the community. Exactly what access is required, from whom, and to what degree? In other words, what would an empeg community development enviroment look like, and who holds the keys to making it come true?

The rest is just finding out if they are willing. That's not simple, but it's the part I'm good at...

FWIW,

Jim