Shareware Authors Call For Royalties on CD ROM and Retail Sales

Forty shareware authors, representing over 180 different shareware
products, announced that they now require "rack vendors" and CD-ROM
compilers to pay royalties for shareware sold in a retail setting or on a
CD-ROM. Although some authors have previously informed vendors of similar
actions, until now most have allowed vendors to sell their software in
stores without paying any royalties. As retail sales of shareware disks
have grown, however, authors are increasingly demanding to be paid for
their work.

"Shareware" refers to a method of buying software in which the user is
allowed a trial period to evaluate the software before making a purchase
decision. Shareware is available free for evaluation from BBSs, online
services, and for a small disk copying fee from vendors. If users continue
using the software, they register it by sending the purchase price to the
author or publisher. In exchange the user normally receives the latest
version of the product, a printed manual, technical support, upgrade
notices, and in many cases, an expanded version of the software or
additional utilities.

According to shareware author Dave Snyder of MVP Software, "Many authors
have concluded that they receive few registrations from shareware sold on
CD-ROM collections or sold in retail locations. Therefore it is necessary
to receive a modest royalty to compensate the author's time and investment
in creating the product."

The authors are sending a letter to shareware vendors reminding the vendors
of authors' distribution policies. "Sending a joint letter is simply a
matter of exercising economies of scale," claimed Snyder. "Authors have
their own individual distribution policies, and some may have requirements
in addition to paying royalties. The letter is really a reminder that all
vendors must adhere to authors' distribution licenses included with their
shareware." Snyder emphasized that although the authors are requiring
royalties on shareware sold on CD-ROMs and in retail locations, most
authors do not require royalties from catalog sales or downloads from BBSs
or online services.

"We are firmly committed to the shareware concept," said Diana Gruber of
Ted Gruber Software. "However, our message can get lost in the retail
environment or when the user thinks that the fee he pays for a CD-ROM disc
entitles him to unlimited use of the shareware it contains. We're trying
to redress this imbalance."

  +---------------------------------------------------------------+
  |   From the America Online - New Product Information Services  |
  +===============================================================+
  | This information was processed from data provided by the      |
  | above mentioned company. For additional details, contact the  |
  | company at the address or telephone number indicated above.   |
  |    All submissions for this service should be addressed to    |
  |   BAKER ENTERPRISES, 20 Ferro Drive, Sewell, NJ 08080 U.S.A.  |
  +---------------------------------------------------------------+
