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Path: sserve!manuel!munnari.oz.au!hp9000.csc.cuhk.hk!uakari.primate.wisc.edu!ames!olivea!sgigate!odin!sgihub!sgitokyo!kandall From: kandall@nsg.sgi.com (Michael Kandall) Newsgroups: alt.suit.att-bsdi,comp.unix.bsd Subject: Re: UNIGRAM's article on the USL-BSDI suit Message-ID: <KANDALL.92Aug5143839@globalize.nsg.sgi.com> Date: 5 Aug 92 19:38:39 GMT References: <1992Aug3.143259.23897@crd.ge.com> <7045@skye.ed.ac.uk> <KANDALL.92Aug4161214@globalize.nsg.sgi.com> <15lc26INNlpq@agate.berkeley.edu> Sender: news@nsg.sgi.com (Net News) Organization: Nihon Silicon Graphics, Japan Lines: 31 In-Reply-To: gwh@soda.berkeley.edu's message of 4 Aug 92 07: 36:38 GMT >>>>> On 4 Aug 92 07:36:38 GMT, gwh@soda.berkeley.edu (George William Herbert) said: }> What? }> I understand some parts of how UNIX internals work. }> I have not, to my knowledge, looked at encumbered code. }> Rather, I've read articles and books and talked to people }> about how it works. Every little detail of the UNIX operating }> system has been disected time and time again in journals, }> books, and online and offline discussions. Fortunately or unfortunately, in order to create a successful software system, one must reveal as much as possible about one's product. The more people know about your implementation, the better they can use it, and the more successful the product will become. If nobody knew anything about how UNIX works, it would not have much of a chance of being a commercial success. }> If that knowledge, gained without reading AT&T's proprietary }> code, is then used to recreate part of UNIX, is it violating their }> copyright? That's NOT what current copyright law generally holds. }> That's not what current intellectual propertly law holds. As I mentioned, independent of the legality, this practice has a deleterious effect on open systems, discourages industry investment in creating licensable technology, and shows no respect for the value of the specification and design time invested by the original creators of the system. That the legal system may no protect such things is unfortunate. Mike ----