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Abandonware
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Abandonware
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==Enforcement of copyright== Abandonware's copyright is frequently not defended, and proponents of abandonware argue that it is more ethical to make copies of such software than new software that still sells. Some who are ignorant of copyright law have incorrectly taken this to mean that abandonware is legal to distribute; no software is old enough for its copyright to have expired, and even in cases where the original company no longer exists, the rights still belong to ''someone''. Transfer of this software is still technically unlawful in most jurisdictions (except in cases of owner dissolution) as the copyright is still in effect. Abandonware changes hands based on the presumption that the time and money that a copyright holder would have to spend enforcing the copyright is greater than any money the holder would earn selling software licenses. Often the availability of abandonware on the [[internet]] is related to the willingness of copyright holders to defend their copyrights. For example, unencumbered [[emulator]]s and games for [[ColecoVision]] are markedly easier to find on the internet than unencumbered emulators and games for [[Intellivision]] in large part because there is still a company that makes money by selling Intellivision games while no such company exists for the ColecoVision. Companies do sometimes voluntarily relinquish copyright on software, putting it into the [[public domain]], or re-license it as [[freeware]] or [[open source]]. [[id Software]] is notable as an early proponent of this practice, releasing older titles under an [[open source]] license. Another example is [[Amstrad]], who support emulation and free distribution of [[ZX Spectrum]] hardware [[ROM image|ROMs]] and software. The transfer of public domain or free software is perfectly legal, distinguishing it from abandonware. However, relinquishing copyright is uncommon - the copyright ownership of all portions is often unclear, creating difficulties in [[open-sourcing]], and there is rarely an economic incentive to do so. Also, limited time promotional free downloads are often mistaken for a proper freeware release.
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