[License-discuss] Reverse Engineering and Open Source Licenses

[John Cowan]

thufir scripsit:

> Please consider carefully your usage of requires versus allows.  I
> think the language barrier isn't helping, but I see now where you're
> coming from, or at least what your concern is.  Again, what is the
> mechanism by which *properietary* software *prevents* reverse
> engineering?

The terms of the license, to be sure.  Many proprietary licenses require
you to give up the right to reverse engineer the software in order to
obtain the right to use the software at all.  The statement "Reverse
engineering is legal" is not equivalent to "A license requirement not
to reverse engineer is void", any more than the freedom of speech means
that non-disclosure agreements are void.  We can contract out of our
rights to do all sorts of things, and do so daily.

-- 
John Cowan          http://www.ccil.org/~cowan        cowan at ccil.org
    "Mr. Lane, if you ever wish anything that I can do, all you will have
        to do will be to send me a telegram asking and it will be done."
    "Mr. Hearst, if you ever get a telegram from me asking you to do
        anything, you can put the telegram down as a forgery."