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Path: euryale.cc.adfa.oz.au!newshost.anu.edu.au!garnet.bmr.gov.au!como.dpie.gov.au!news.gan.net.au!act.news.telstra.net!vic.news.telstra.net!news.mira.net.au!harbinger.cc.monash.edu.au!news.rmit.EDU.AU!news.unimelb.EDU.AU!munnari.OZ.AU!news.ecn.uoknor.edu!solace!nntp.uio.no!news.cais.net!news.jsums.edu!gatech!news.mathworks.com!solaris.cc.vt.edu!not-for-mail From: erik@fenris.campus.vt.edu () Newsgroups: comp.os.linux.development.apps,comp.os.linux.development.system,comp.os.linux.x,comp.os.linux.hardware,comp.os.linux.setup,comp.unix.bsd.386bsd.misc,comp.unix.bsd.bsdi.misc,comp.unix.bsd.netbsd.misc,comp.unix.bsd.freebsd.misc Subject: Re: Why to not buy Matrox Millennium Followup-To: comp.os.linux.development.apps,comp.os.linux.development.system,comp.os.linux.x,comp.os.linux.hardware,comp.os.linux.setup,comp.unix.bsd.386bsd.misc,comp.unix.bsd.bsdi.misc,comp.unix.bsd.netbsd.misc,comp.unix.bsd.freebsd.misc Date: 27 Mar 1996 19:57:19 GMT Organization: A random machine somewhere Lines: 37 Message-ID: <4jc6iv$pbj@solaris.cc.vt.edu> References: <4j21ph$crr@slappy.cs.utexas.edu> <4j3muv$34m@cville-srv.wam.umd.edu> <4j3v64$1rq@virtech.aib.com> <4j7dg2$t3t@moacs11.moacs.indiv.nl.net> <4j8s8a$q8b@newstand.syr.edu> <4j93n1$4jj@solaris.cc.vt.edu> <31598846.6584@vfr.interceptor.com> NNTP-Posting-Host: fenris.campus.vt.edu NNTP-Posting-User: erik X-Newsreader: TIN [UNIX 1.3 950824BETA PL0] Xref: euryale.cc.adfa.oz.au comp.os.linux.development.apps:13770 comp.os.linux.development.system:20179 comp.os.linux.x:27850 comp.os.linux.hardware:34616 comp.os.linux.setup:47648 comp.unix.bsd.386bsd.misc:332 comp.unix.bsd.bsdi.misc:2830 comp.unix.bsd.netbsd.misc:2611 comp.unix.bsd.freebsd.misc:16169 Thumper! (thumper@vfr.interceptor.com) wrote: : > Not to mention reverse engineering is fair-use, as per copyright law, so : > a contract -can-not- forbid this. : : Just to be clear... you still cannot share the information with anyone else legally, : you cannot use the information to create your own hardware, and if your work gets into : the hands of someone who DOES do that (even if they get your work despite you forbidding : them to do so), you will still be liable for copyright infringement. : Can you back up where you have seen this? I *know* that clean room dissassembly of software is legal. If I wanted to make a clone of windows, I could do so, perfectly legally. Here's how: I give one group of people a bunch of machines with windows, with sophisticated debuggers, disassemblers, lots of time. They find out everything about how the interface is implemented. Then, _the interface_ is given to another team of people. These people have never seen the code for windows ( in my example ), and they can write based on that code. The result: a clone of Windows, perfectly legal. This is how a lot of clone chips are created, to ensure compatibility. Likewise, how clone makers made BIOS chips from systems once the BIOS was no longer included. I am not sure whether or not this is needed to write a X server. If it would make people happier, I am sure that it could be arranged that way. I am curious -- is there anyone actually WILLING TO DO THIS? Or are we all just arguing about the academic issue of whether or not it SHOULD be done?