Author: Dave Gomboc
Date: 15:59:28 09/08/03
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On September 07, 2003 at 18:08:14, Mike Byrne wrote: >On September 07, 2003 at 17:17:31, George Tsavdaris wrote: > >>On September 07, 2003 at 17:06:18, George Jones wrote: >> [snip] >>Anyway we should define pirated/illegal software, because perhaps Mike's >>definition might be different from mine. > >My definition is quite simple. If the software violates the licenisng >agreement, it is illegal. I have read the UBI Soft licensing agreement and like >most agreements, distrubuting licensed modified code to others (registered or >not registered ) users is prohibited. That is exactly what deadking is, it is a >distributution of modified code that was governed by the licensing agreement >which explicitly forbade that. Excuse me, but the law is the law -- the licencing agreement is only a contracting arrangement that the law supercedes. I strongly urge you to disassociate "what the licencing agreement says" and "legal/illegal". They are not the same thing. I've never heard of "deadking", but I am aware that shrink-wrap software makers include all sorts of language prohibiting or restricting foo, bar, and xyz, that depending on where you live, may or may not be valid. The ability to have programs interoperate is one area where the law can and often is more generous than the licence agreement. I was able to (quickly) find a description of the tool on the internet. It claims to patch the executable (change some bytes in it). That's quite different from "distributing modified code": you can't use this patch program without having the original file. "Distributing modified code" would be taking the patched executable and sending it to someone else. I'm not claiming that the tool is legal or illegal -- you'd have to check your local laws. What I am claiming is that a) your understanding of what the tool actually does appears to be wrong, and b) depending on where you live, your understanding of what is illegal may also require slight or serious revision. I am not a lawyer, and this message is not legal advice. Dave
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