[DECtalk] Report of a successful use of dectalk with graphical Linux.

[Kyle]

Josh Kennedy tapped out:
> That would be like asking  Deane blazey who is around 78 years old if 
> I can make a new Braille and speak. I don't even have to ask him 
> because I know what he's going to say. He's going to say I don't care 
> do whatever the heck you want.


tl;dr, this is a bit of a grey area in copyright law, as the software 
may or may not be considered abandonware, so a statement of permission 
in a LICENSE, COPYING or similar file will go a long way toward 
addressing any legal concerns.


There actually is a provision for this in copyright law I think, 
especially as it relates to abandoned computer software, games, hardware 
specs, etc. This is referred to as abandonware, and it is how many 
emulators work, such as our beloved Apple //e MESS/MAME machine. Still, 
in most cases, the company behind the software or hardware spec makes a 
statement indicating that the product in question is in fact abandoned. 
The tricky thing with DECTalk is that it builds and runs natively, and 
the source code can be built into executable binary code that works 
without an emulator. There's also the fact that some of the original 
developers appear to be working on the code, making it technically no 
longer abandoned, at least not by its developers. In this case, I 
believe the request for permission still lies with whoever now holds the 
copyright, whether the developers currently working on it or whoever or 
whatever the company became once it dissolved if in fact it did.

~Kyle