Re: [Richard Stallman <rms@gnu.org>] Re: Debian & BSD concerns
On Tue, 9 Mar 1999, Stephen Carpenter wrote:
> if so then I have seen many companies CLAIM that it is illegal to
> reverse engineer their IP...I have seen licenses which specifically
> tell you not to...
mebbe i should be on debian-legal.. ;P
if the license prohibits reverse engineering, it is illegal to reverse
engineer that software/hardware. it's called breach of license/contract. a
license agreement *is* legally binding. even if you don't read it. when
you hit that 'accept' button or whatever, it's the same as signing it. it
is assumed that you read it. if you didn't read it, then you're entirely
at fault. it's the end-user's responsibility to read the contract. not the
software/hardware authors/designers responsibility.
so, yes, if it is stated in the license that it is prohibited, then it is
illegal to reverse engineer that product.
-prj
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