catchaserguns wrote:In other words they can close down Dosbox.
No, they can't close down DOSBox in the same way that the RIAA and MPAA couldn't close down file sharing. Unless DOSBox infringes on someone else's copyrighted code it is perfectly legal. Merely creating the means to do something questionable isn't the same as actually doing it. The people who share music and movies can be held liable for their actions if they are caught, but the creators of Kazaa and Bittorrent cannot.
The only reason the "abandonware" sites exist is because they depend on the fact that many of the copyright holders either won't know about them or won't care. I have seen on one site where they posted notices of having to remove certain games because they received cease and desist letters from the copyright holders. The man who owns the copyright to the Wolfenstein name is particularly vigilant about his IP being distributed without his consent and sends out letters all the time. That's why you won't find the original Wolfenstein game for download anywhere, because he actively protects his copyrights. Many don't, though. Either they don't care or they don't feel it's worth engaging a lawyer to generate a C&D letter or in some cases the copyright holder may be dead and his rights might be in limbo or someone may even own a copyright they are unaware of. The way businesses merge, buy each other out and transfer assets to others leaves a lot of uncertainty about who owns what sometimes BUT that still doesn't make it legal to distribute the copyrighted property of others.
