From: sip1@ellis.uchicago.edu (Timothy F. Sipples)
Subject: Re: Tetris gripe
Followup-To: comp.os.os2.advocacy
Reply-To: sip1@midway.uchicago.edu
Organization: Dept. of Econ., Univ. of Chicago
Date: Fri, 24 Jul 1992 16:59:19 GMT

In article <1992Jul24.021611.12788@panix.com> os2man@panix.com (Larry Salomon Jr.) writes:
>I have a major gripe to express tonight:
>Whilest browsing through one of the trade mags, I noticed a review of 
>Desqview/X, while mentioned how it came with the requisite version of 
>Tetris.
>Time out - didn't OS/2 2.0 beta have a version of Tetris?  Yes, it did;
>I know because I wrote it.  IBM Corporate had a problem with paying money
>to Spectrum Holobyte (the holder of the copyright) to license the concept
>of Tetris so that it can distribute the game with OS/2.  However, Microsoft
>never had a problem and now it seems that Desqview's creators (whomever
>they are; I never was a Desqview fan) didn't either.
>Although I didn't assist in the transformation from its (very humble-looking)
>beginnings to what it was in its final distributed form, I was quite proud
>to have played a part in its writing mostly because so many people enjoyed
>playing it.  Hell, even IBM Legal expressed extreme sorrow when they told me
>the final decision, for they played it too and found it highly enjoyable.
>Sure, it sounds like I'm griping about losing this simply because I wrote
>it, but I'm not really.  What I'm griping about is how this is another
>example of IBM playing against itself in the development of OS/2 2.0.
>This goes in the catalog of screw ups along with the initial lack of
>marketing thrust and other such nonsense that always seem to show up.
>To qualm any forays against my integrity, I did not receive any compensation
>at all for any of my other contributions to the OS/2 2.0 product.  Thus,
>there is/was no financial interest in having Blox/Tetris included.

I do not know what Microsoft or Quarterdeck Office Systems agreed to,
but it is possible they have not reached any agreement with Spectrum
Holobyte, in which case they could face possible legal action.  I
would not jump to the conclusion that both these companies even
bothered to talk with Spectrum Holobyte.

Now, if that is the case, I really do not know how I would react.  On
the one hand you have a company (IBM) which is trying as hard as
possible not to infringe on Spectrum Holobyte's intellectual property,
and, in discussions with them, they could not agree on royalties.  On
the other hand you may have two companies which feel (1) they won't
get sued; and/or (2) the Tetris concept is not protectable under law;
and/or (3) their lawyers can keep the case tied up in court forever,
at tremendous legal expense, driving the company out of business
and/or deterring a lawsuit in the first place.  Do I laud IBM's
principled stand or Microsoft/Quarterdeck's ruthless competitive
spirit (positive spin given here to both)?

Anyway, the point is mostly moot.  You can retrieve at least two
versions of Tetris for OS/2 via anonymous ftp from ftp-os2.nmsu.edu.
It isn't as though you are not able to play Tetris under OS/2.

-- 
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