Fair point. I think there needs to be a legal definition of IP’s that no longer have a claimant and therefore go public domain by default. If nobody can show ownership then nobody owns it.
Comment on One Of The Best Games Ever Turns 25, And You Still Can't Buy It
theangriestbird@beehaw.org 3 days agoehhh i hear you, “abandonware” can be defined as “software which is no longer supported or updated”, but that is a very broad definition. I think one could also define abandonware as “software which is no longer supported or updated, and which has no clear IP owner anymore”, and I think that that is the colloquial definition for a lot of people. I think we need a new word for one of these two definitions.
CaptainBlinky@lemmy.myserv.one 3 days ago
theangriestbird@beehaw.org 3 days ago
lord, if only we lived in a world where things made sense…
Malgas@beehaw.org 3 days ago
I propose “orphanware” for that subset of abandonware that has no clear owner.
Consistent with the broader term “orphan work”.