Re: bitsavers.org and Symbolics documents

At 5:31 PM -0400 09/03/13, Brad Parker wrote:
>racal-norsk flyleafs :-)  have a copy of that apocryphal zeta lisp
>documentation docuemtn which someone there wrote?

Hard to believe that I actually bought that from RN in the clearance 
sale, at the time it seemed some sort of bible.  Yes I may have some 
of the RN formal source specification of MIT Zetalisp, at least there 
should be some old 10" tape reels and printouts somewhere in the 
clutter.
It was something like a 20 man-year effort to analyze, test and write 
that specification, to my mind it was a big part of RN's valid 
output.  I know there were several full copies stored under beds when 
the parent companies threw the towel in.  But as that was 24 years 
ago, I assume most have been spring cleaned by now.
Re. that licensing, I remember there being some rights issue about 
Zetalisp itself. RN bought some rights to outside the US, although 
Symbolics claimed they had also.  Presumably Zetalisp is MIT's baby 
now.
Part of that scene was RMS (who worked with us at RN).
Ownership, paying the bills, ... what a struggle.

>  >Does anyone know how we stand with putting such history up on the web
>>(re. copyright etc)?
>
>The final owner of the intellectual property died a few years ago and
>his estate is in probate in Massachusetts.  IMHO there is no one left to
>bring suit.  My feeling is that you are safe.  In this life, anyway :-)

Thanks Brad.  It sounds as if there may never be any sort of formal 
closure, rather the issue of ownership just fades away over decades. 
I wonder if what Nichimen bought has faded too.

It rather puts Alice's generosity with MCL in perspective.

-peter