EMC Software and Klaus Grosser' Death

[Joe H]

Hi all,

I would like to share the latest info on Klaus Grosser death and EMC software.  The EMC website is no longer up and running.  I'm wondering who informed the EMC website host of Klaus' death and who authorized it to be shut down?  Maybe someone at STRATO can help solve that mystery. 

http://www.emc-musicsoftware.com/epages/62511965.sf/en_GB/?ObjectPath=/Shops/62511965/Products/stf_0001/SubProducts/stf_0001-0001

I have pursued trying to find out about what will become of EMC software.  Many people around the world have been concerned. I have an interest because I bought a copy of Style Factory last year from Klaus.  It has some bugs in it and some shortcomings as well.  I contacted Klaus about this issue and he wasn't interested in fixing the bugs or further development of the program.  Style Factory has great potential for creating custom styles from a database of thousands of phrases built in the program from many different Yamaha keyboards as well as styles from other keyboard manufactures.  I can also add new custom phrases to the program as well. My understanding is that there are issues with Style Works on Windows 10 as well.  But it appears that there will be no future development of EMC software. 

Since I am in the USA, I enlisted the help of 3 forum members who live in Germany. Uli (voodoo), Chris (overover), and Frank (frankmusik).  I wish to thank all three of these guys for their generous help.  I would especially like to thank Frank Steinbrecher who contacted the band that Klaus played in and served as the sound engineer for the group as well.  It appears that Klaus was tired of the software business and got much enjoyment playing music.  Click on the following link to learn more.

https://www.handercover.de/


I contacted Frank Steinbrecher at MusikCity again today. Below is his response.

Sorry Joe, but no good news...
I contacted his Band, and I informed a customer living in the same city .. but no one get a contact to a "family member" ....
seems like he was "on it's own" .. so I think his software and knowledge is up in the air ....

greetings,
frank

PS: I got a lot requests also from germany ...

I'm wondering about German copyright law... If there is no heir to Klaus' estate, then who owns the copyright on EMC software?  Is there a legal way to make EMC software public domain? (and make it freeware by removing the copyright protection)

If there is an heir, are they willing to sell or give the software to an interested MIDI programmer?  If there is a forum member in Germany who would like to pursue this issue further please let me know.

The main issue is (for all who bought EMC software), the fact that if it needs to be reinstalled on another computer in the future, we must re-register it with EMC (namely Klaus) on line.  Since that is not possible now, there is no way to keep the software if changing to a new computer.

I will try "cloning" my MIDI computer hard drive and see is Style Factory will run on the clone HD.  I will report back with the results. If it does then I will just have to keep my current MIDI machine running forever.  (I have a backup motherboard).  But I don't know if it is possible to transfer (clone) my MIDI computer data to a different OS, hardware, or processor on a new machine in the future.

Other ideas are welcome.

One last issue:  If you bought EMC software after Klaus died and are not able to register the program and install it, try contacting PayPal, your credit card company, or bank about a refund.  If they try contacting EMC, they will get NO response and you should be able to get a refund.

Joe H

[Gunnar Jonny]

I will try "cloning" my MIDI computer hard drive and see is Style Factory will run the clone HD.

Thanks for the new information Joe.

Very sad that Klaus passed away. I know he did work on some updates and features, new version just around the corner.....
Last EMC update is v4.999, so the next would probably been v5.xxx
I had to clone my HD (C-drive), replaced it with a bigger one due to lack of space. EMC Universal runs as usual, so does everything else.
But to place a clone into another PC/hardware would most likely give some driver and Windows activate issues before run smooth.

[Joe H]

GJ,

Thanks for the info on cloning your C drive.  That's encouraging to know the EMC software still runs on the cloned drive.  I will try to clone my HD this weekend. I believe there is software by easeUS that will allow us to copy a HD to a new OS.

Joe H

[Gunnar Jonny]

I believe there is software by easeUS that will allow us to copy a HD to a new OS.

There are several sofwaresolutions to find, but I'm using Icy Box Docking & Clone Station I bought some years ago. Simple and quick 'one button' solution. 😊
It have solution for both 3,5" and 2,5" and by use of adaper it's piece of cake to clone to i.e. M2 NGFF SSD as well.

[Joe H]

I did some quick research on US copyright law.  It reads as follows:

A copyright owned by an author who dies and leaves no natural heirs (i.e. spouse, children, siblings) and no will, is handled just like any other piece of property in such a situation and will likely end up being owned by the state of which he or she was a citizen at the time of death.

Maybe this the case in Germany also. If there is a government agency in Germany that can confirm this, I hope someone will check it out. 

Joe H

[Joe H]

I have pursued inquiry about copyright law in Germany.  It may take a couple of days for me to get an answer from lawyers who know German law.

Stay tuned!

Joe H

[tomtomsf]

Sorry to hear that Klaus has passed away. He and his software pioneered the ability to share styles among many different keyboards. His software was used by many of us all around the world and made for a lot of fun.

Tom G.

[Joe H]

Update on my investigations of EMC:

I never received any response back from the legal services I contacted.  But what I have learned so far is that it appears that Klaus had no partners in his software business... EMC.  Apparently, he also had no contact with family either. 

So... it is unknown if the are any heirs to EMC or Klaus' software.  Under German copyright law Klaus' software is protected for 70 years after his death. There appears to be NO heirs to Klaus' estate (business, software and any material possessions he may have owned).  Also under German law any family member(s) can claim to be an heir(s) by filing certain paperwork.  The heir(s) will inherit all assets as well as all debts.

I have ask a certain person who lives in Germany to see if he can find someone who is interested in pursuing this further. My hope is that an experienced programmer is willing to take up the task of fixing all bugs in Klaus' software and revise/simplify the copy protect scheme or maybe even make it public domain (freeware)

Joe H

[Joe H]

Well I have reached the end of the road on this issue. There is no one who can pursue it further to get answers.  I will try cloning my hard drive and see if Yamaha Style Factory will run on the new drive.  Maybe its the only way to keep EMC programs running in the future.



Joe H