> As such I think it would be hard for anybody today to start trying to enforce the IP rights on the 8-bit ROMs, they are so widely spread, distributed and used.
IANAL, but while you can lose a trademark through non-enforcement, I don't believe the same applies to copyrights. Turning a blind eye to infringement, even for years on end, doesn't necessarily prevent an attempt to go after it in the future.
> All the IP rights (except the Commodore name and trademark) is now owned and managed by Cloanto. You can buy legal copies of all the ROMs and software from them, they also seem very amenable to make deals with makers of retro computers etc.
I don't know who owns Cloanto. But even if its current owner(s) are nice and friendly people – it could end up being owned by someone else in the future who is more focused on extracting as much money as possible (like what happened to Unix with the SCO saga). Maybe the current owner(s) go bankrupt, pass away, fall on hard times, etc, and the business ends up being sold to someone only interested in maximising their return at any cost.
IANAL, but while you can lose a trademark through non-enforcement, I don't believe the same applies to copyrights. Turning a blind eye to infringement, even for years on end, doesn't necessarily prevent an attempt to go after it in the future.
> All the IP rights (except the Commodore name and trademark) is now owned and managed by Cloanto. You can buy legal copies of all the ROMs and software from them, they also seem very amenable to make deals with makers of retro computers etc.
I don't know who owns Cloanto. But even if its current owner(s) are nice and friendly people – it could end up being owned by someone else in the future who is more focused on extracting as much money as possible (like what happened to Unix with the SCO saga). Maybe the current owner(s) go bankrupt, pass away, fall on hard times, etc, and the business ends up being sold to someone only interested in maximising their return at any cost.