knudsen@ihlpl.ATT.COM (Knudsen) (10/15/88)
In article <e6m10#2eDFfC=eric@snark.UUCP>, eric@snark.UUCP (Eric S. Raymond) writes: > Peter ("Have you hugged your wolf today?") deSilva seems to think the point > of a uMIIL is to provide a medium for selling software, a way for it to be > distributed in machine-independent form that nosy hackers can't read and > modify. > Excuse me, but I thought the security problem in for-sale software was to guard > it from unauthorized *copying* and *use*, not unauthorized *understanding. Well, some vendors are afraid of people (competitors?) understanding their code. Tandy Radio Shack software usually includes in the copyright notice "customer is explicitly forbidden to disassemble the software." Few serious computerists have been deterred by this notice (I know of one who was for a while), but they are afraid to post the disassemblies on public BBSes. There is a question of "fair use" here, since sometimes you have to hack and patch a program to make it useful on your system. -- Mike Knudsen Bell Labs(AT&T) att!ihlpl!knudsen "Lawyers are like handguns and nuclear bombs. Nobody likes them, but the other guy's got one, so I better get one too."
friedl@vsi.COM (Stephen J. Friedl) (10/16/88)
In article <7226@ihlpl.ATT.COM>, knudsen@ihlpl.ATT.COM (Knudsen) writes: > ... Tandy Radio Shack software usually includes in > the copyright notice "customer is explicitly forbidden to disassemble > the software." ... > > There is a question of "fair use" here, since sometimes you have > to hack and patch a program to make it useful on your system. Be careful here. Most software is protected by license agreements that are substantially more restrictive than mere copyright. If you buy software and agree to the terms, and if the terms say "no disassembly", then you aren't allowed to do it. I know that license agreements are subject to interpretation, but "fair use" is not likely to apply much to software except for backup purposes. Note: (friedl != attorney) && (friedl == thankful) Follups to comp.misc -- Steve Friedl V-Systems, Inc. +1 714 545 6442 3B2-kind-of-guy friedl@vsi.com {backbones}!vsi.com!friedl attmail!vsi!friedl ---------Nancy Reagan on the Three Stooges: "Just say Moe"---------
henry@utzoo.uucp (Henry Spencer) (10/21/88)
In article <7226@ihlpl.ATT.COM> knudsen@ihlpl.ATT.COM (Knudsen) writes: >... Tandy Radio Shack software usually includes in >the copyright notice "customer is explicitly forbidden to disassemble >the software." ... This sort of restriction is very common. Sun binary licenses include a similar clause. -- The meek can have the Earth; | Henry Spencer at U of Toronto Zoology the rest of us have other plans.|uunet!attcan!utzoo!henry henry@zoo.toronto.edu