Posted by Wayne Parham [ 66.139.38.192 ] on September 17, 2005 at 07:14:27:
In Reply to: To Doug and Mike........ posted by colinhester on September 16, 2005 at 18:37:55:
You're exactly right. The truth is that IP law is a very strange beast. I think the discussions about morals and ethics are valid though, and sadly, they are different. What is legal and what is ethical isn't exactly the same thing. I think part of what grinds on Mike is a moral objection, but the legal aspects are worth looking at too.
An example is the sale of trademarks by search engines. Right now, it is being done and no search engines have been prosecuted yet. But clearly this is profiting from someone else's trademark, both by the search engines and by anyone that buys keywords of someone else's trademarks.
Another example is reverse engineering. In the United States and many other countries, reverse-engineering is legal as long as it is obtained legitimately, even if the device is protected by trade secrets.
[ Dungeon Forum ] [ Help ]