[DECtalk] DECtalk TTS licensing

[Don]

On 8/29/2021 10:02 AM, Nikita wrote:
> Hello everybody.
>
> I am looking for an opportunity to license DECtalk software technology to
> develop a cross-platform multilingual speech synthesizer compatible with
> screen readers. First of all, on Windows and Android, and in the future,
> possibly Linux and macOS.
>
> Unfortunately, I ran into the problem of being unable to contact the
> copyright holders of DECtalk.
>
> SpeechFX, Inc. website does not work (speechfxinc.com), and I am not
> receiving a response to message sent to the email that was previously
> indicated on this site (sales at speechfxinc.com).
>
> I tried to contact Roger Dudley personally, who is the CEO of SpeechFX, but
> his addresses, which I discovered in the public sources, no longer exist.
>
> I know that there is an available software implementation of DECtalk and
> even its source code is publicly available, but these are all illegal
> versions. I want to officially license DECtalk for my non-commercial
> project.
>
> I will be very grateful if someone can suggest how else I can contact the
> copyright holders of DECtalk.
>
> If you have any information, but you do not want to publish it publicly,
> then you can write to me directly at nikitamailings at yandex.com

You can do a DnB on SpeechFX to see if they still exist.

Then, send certified (snail) mail to the officers, return receipt requested
(to demonstrate due diligence in trying to pursue contact BEYOND the "easy"
email approach).  At most, this will cost you a few dollars.

At least you can have the USPS as a witness to your (attempted) actions.

A lawyer would give you far better advice.  But, they seldom work for free.

Note that there are other synthesizers around that might prove to be
a better starting point (DECtalk is *ancient*)