European DMCA

[João Miguel Neves]

On Seg, 2002-01-21 at 01:25, Alistair Davidson wrote:
> Klaus Schilling wrote:
> > And what about ICQ? Most clients have been obtained by rev engeineering,
> > I believe.
> That form of reverse engineering does not 'facilitate the infringement
> of copyright.'
> 
You're right on that one. The only things that changes, in term of
reverse engineering, with the EUCD is the inability to reverse engineer
a "Digital Rights Management" product.

The "Software Directive" (1991)[1] already prohibited
reverse-engineering fr other purposes other than interoperability with a
"independently created computer program". The strange part to me is that
the obtained information is not permitted "to be used for the
development, production or marketing of a computer program substantially
similar in its expression, or for any other act which infringes
copyright."

I wonder if a OS driver for Linux classifies as a "substabtially
similar" program of a Windows device driver.

[1] http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex/en/lif/dat/1991/en_391L0250.html

-- 
						Joao Miguel Neves
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