Reverse engineering, a legitimate form of 'discovery'

[kingliveson]

I liken some of these comments to Political "experts" on TV who after watching a Presidential debate or State of the Union Address, come on and try to explain to me what I've just heard. It is quite entertaining to say the least.

[Albert Silver]

I liken some of these comments to Political "experts" on TV who after watching a Presidential debate or State of the Union Address, come on and try to explain to me what I've just heard. It is quite entertaining to say the least.

The good ones serve a very useful purpose as most people only hear what is said.

[Osipov Jury]

It talks a lot about the RE and its legality, morality, etc.
But nobody talks about the technical possibility of the reverse. This is probably due to poor understanding of the subject matter.

[CRoberson]

Actually, it is the same link just with more details. The paragraph is embedded in the detailed version.

1.

The creation of better designs and the interoperability of existing products often begin with reverse engineering.

2.

The final stage of the reverse engineering process is the introduction of a new product into the marketplace. These new products are often innovations of the original product with competitive designs, features, or capabilities.

You need to reread the document and pay attention to the context in which those statements are made.

[kingliveson]

I liken some of these comments to Political "experts" on TV who after watching a Presidential debate or State of the Union Address, come on and try to explain to me what I've just heard. It is quite entertaining to say the least.

The good ones serve a very useful purpose as most people only hear what is said.

Unfortunately most political "experts" are partisans who give opinions that benefits their affiliations. Back to the subject... Reverse engineering has been upheld by courts to be legal. You can reverse engineer a product to gain inside knowledge and create a better product.

[kingliveson]

Actually, it is the same link just with more details. The paragraph is embedded in the detailed version.

1.

The creation of better designs and the interoperability of existing products often begin with reverse engineering.

2.

The final stage of the reverse engineering process is the introduction of a new product into the marketplace. These new products are often innovations of the original product with competitive designs, features, or capabilities.

You need to reread the document and pay attention to the context in which those statements are made.

I think I was the one who pointed out that the documents were the same. My point is, I have read it. And it is not the only one I have read.

[Albert Silver]

I liken some of these comments to Political "experts" on TV who after watching a Presidential debate or State of the Union Address, come on and try to explain to me what I've just heard. It is quite entertaining to say the least.

The good ones serve a very useful purpose as most people only hear what is said.

Unfortunately most political "experts" are partisans who give opinions that benefits their affiliations.

100% agreement. That is why it is a good idea to hear more than one, even by those whose affiliation you disagree with, but whose acumen you respect. At the very least it helps give a more complete picture.

Back to the subject... Reverse engineering has been upheld by courts to be legal. You can reverse engineer a product to gain inside knowledge and create a better product.

Yes, but this very different from slightly modifying pre-existent code, hence the comments on "substantial similarities".

[kingliveson]

Back to the subject... Reverse engineering has been upheld by courts to be legal. You can reverse engineer a product to gain inside knowledge and create a better product.

Yes, but this very different from slightly modifying pre-existent code, hence the comments on "substantial similarities".

This is a different subject matter in which the aggrieved party would have to submit substantiated evidence that such has occurred. No court will rule against an individual or entity without having seen evidence. Of course a lower court could, but more than likely such a ruling will not be upheld by a higher court.

[Albert Silver]

Back to the subject... Reverse engineering has been upheld by courts to be legal. You can reverse engineer a product to gain inside knowledge and create a better product.

Yes, but this very different from slightly modifying pre-existent code, hence the comments on "substantial similarities".

This is a different subject matter in which the aggrieved party would have to submit substantiated evidence that such has occurred. No court will rule against an individual or entity without having seen evidence. Of course a lower court could, but more than likely such a ruling will not be upheld by a higher court.

I never said anything about not substantiating such a claim, merely that your argument that it was a legitimate practice was mistaken in such a case.

[kingliveson]

Back to the subject... Reverse engineering has been upheld by courts to be legal. You can reverse engineer a product to gain inside knowledge and create a better product.

Yes, but this very different from slightly modifying pre-existent code, hence the comments on "substantial similarities".

This is a different subject matter in which the aggrieved party would have to submit substantiated evidence that such has occurred. No court will rule against an individual or entity without having seen evidence. Of course a lower court could, but more than likely such a ruling will not be upheld by a higher court.

I never said anything about not substantiating such a claim, merely that your argument that it was a legitimate practice was mistaken in such a case.

I hope I have not insinuated that modifying is legal. Most developers or businesses that hire developers in the case of application or web development know that you cannot just copy/paste, and modify. You will get caught. Even if there are no legal consequences, there is the embarrassment factor. This actually happened recently to Microsoft who hired a company that tried to slide by...

http://blog.plurk.com/2009/12/14/microsoft-rips-plurk/
http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/pres ... ement.mspx