emv@math.lsa.umich.edu (Edward Vielmetti) (07/13/90)
[this from a local u-m group, edited somewhat. credit margaret pittman on the original discovery] The July issue of _IEEE Software_ has an interesting rock fight going on. In January, Paula Samuelson, a law professor who regularly contributes to the magazine, wrote an article in which she argued that reverse-engineering programs should be legal, and that unauthorized copies of the program created in decompilation do not violate the program's copyright. In this month's issue, Victor Siber, corporate counsel for *IBM*, vehemently disagrees. Apparently Siber originally submitted a full article in response to Samuelson. But to speed up the discussion, he agreed to submit a condensed version as a letter. ... To keep the dialogue going, Samuelson issued a reply to Siber's response, which also appears in this issue. This discussion is written in reasonable, rather than legal, English, and it is interesting reading. When one contemplates the issues involved, it is downright scarey. ---end of excerpt--- --Ed Edward Vielmetti, U of Michigan math dept <emv@math.lsa.umich.edu> comp.archives moderator