|
RasMol FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) - A
Part:
1
2
3
4
- Can RasMol be distributed freely, on CD-ROMs, and used freely even for commercial purposes?
- Is RasMol "Year 2000 (Y2K) compliant"?
- What is the definitive literature citation for RasMol?
- Where can I get more molecule co-ordinate files?
- How do I measure distances within RasMol?
- How do I select residues in a particular chain?
- How can I create the PDB file for a particular sequence?
- I can't find the command line window in RasWin
- I get the message "No suitable display detected!"
- How do I create high resolution images in RasMol?
- Generating RasMol animations non-interactively in UNIX
- Is there an Acorn Archimedes version of RasMol?
Can RasMol be distributed freely, on CD-ROMs, and
used freely even for commercial purposes?
Here is a quote from Roger Sayle, author of RasMol, in reply
to a 1998 inquiry about commercial use of RasMol:
The RasMol molecular graphics package is "public domain", which in the
legal definition is more than just freely redistributable but actually
free of all intellectual property right. Although my original vision was
to allow it to be redistributed at the back of text books and enable
researchers like Eric to collaborate in its development. Indeed about 8
publishers currently bundle it with CD-ROMs or text books, and several
people actively continue to independently develop and support RasMol.
However the darker side of "public domain" is that companies such as MDL
and MSI are able to sell it as a stand-alone product for profit, not only
without roytalty but in some cases without acknowledgement. Hence I'm
delighted for you to bundle it with your text's and theres nothing to
stop you selling it for profit. But then if another publisher also sells
the same stand-alone cheaper, or a customer wishes to download it from the
internet for free, there's nothing you can do to prevent them.
I hope this explains the situtation. Please have my blessing to use it as
you will, in the end it is the research community that stands to benfit
most.
Roger Sayle, E-mail: roger@metaphorics.com
Bioinformatics Group, Metaphorics, WWW: http://www.metaphorics.com/
419 East Palace Avenue, Tel: (+1) 505-984-0613
Santa Fe, New Mexico, 87501. Fax: (+1) 505-989-1200
(Continued on next part...)
Part:
1
2
3
4
| 