Comment GPL Does Not Apply ... (Score 2) 276
... if cphack includes illegally obtained code. You can't license code that you don't own.
Of course that is the essential issue -- is reverse engineering a violation of the original code license?
I was surprised that the authors of cphack bowed out, especially right on the tails of the ACLU. I'd love to see the ACLU spearhead a case that establishes once and for all that reverse engineering code can constitute a 'fair use' which is inherent to the right to own property, and no amount of license mubo-jumbo can make it go away.
Of course that is the essential issue -- is reverse engineering a violation of the original code license?
I was surprised that the authors of cphack bowed out, especially right on the tails of the ACLU. I'd love to see the ACLU spearhead a case that establishes once and for all that reverse engineering code can constitute a 'fair use' which is inherent to the right to own property, and no amount of license mubo-jumbo can make it go away.
