Do I need license to release the Python version of old BASIC games?

[Chris Angelico]

On Mon, Jun 22, 2015 at 9:54 AM, C.D. Reimer <chris at cdreimer.com> wrote:
> On 6/21/2015 3:02 PM, Marko Rauhamaa wrote:
>>
>> As they say, tell that to the judge.
>
>
> More than likely, the original copyright owner can issue an DMCA take down
> notice and that will be end of that.

Or, alternatively, the original copyright owner will be tickled to see
his work given a new lease on life, and will be thanking you for doing
it. That's also possible.

As long as you acknowledge the prior work, most people are happy to
see their stuff used. Slap a simple free license on your actual code
(you suggested MIT earlier, and I support that notion strongly), and
include some sort of pointer to the BASIC code and book, and most
likely the matter will never go to court. For extra safety, though, do
your best to get in contact with the original author and ask how best
to acknowledge the book. That would cover you.

ChrisA