by Chris Scott

Created on: July 03, 2007

Abandonware is software that is no longer being developed or supported. Contrary to popular belief, there is no legal designation for abandonware. Some of it can be obtained legally, and some of it cannot. A key thing to remember is that just because a piece of software has been abandoned, it does not mean that the copyright has somehow gone null and void.

There are several reasons why a software company would want to keep its abandonware away from the public. One is that they want to sell their newer software and they don't want to go to the expense of supporting multiple versions of the same software. Another reason they might want to protect their abandonware is liability- If many people acquire old, unsupported software, the company that made it might still face legal issues should it malfunction or cause damage.

That being said, there are some software companies that offer up their abandonware for free while being quite clear that they offer no warranty nor accept no liability. One example is Panic (http://www.panic.com/extras/), a small company that makes Macintosh software. Their Audion mp3 player, discontinued in 2003, is still available on their site, and it's still a popular download, particularly for those who have older machines.

This leads to a moral question about abandonware. There are people out there who have older machines that newer software will not work on. Some of these computer models have been discontinued themselves and the only software that will work on them is abandonware. Is it piracy to use an unauthorized copy of software that is no longer sold or supported on a machine that will no longer run current software? Before answering the question, it's worth taking a look at open-source alternatives such as Linux.

At any rate, the issue of abandonware is only going to grow as computer technology continues to advance, new titles are introduced and old ones retired. As for the legal designation, copyright laws are unlikely to be changed, so it will be up to the individual companies to determine whether their abandonware may or may not be legally acquired.

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