Windows 2000 source code has been leaked

[Shachar Shemesh]

Rein Klazes wrote:

>On Sat, 14 Feb 2004 11:32:05 +0200, you wrote:
>
>  
>
>>What you are saying is applicable to copyright law. I.e. - if you 
>>reverse engineer the code (say, by disassembling it). If that's what you 
>>did on LEGALLY OBTAINED CODE, then you are probably ok. The reverse 
>>engineering itself needs to be legal where you do it, but that is still 
>>possible. For example, in Israel, as far as I have found out, it is 
>>still legal to rev-eng the code.
>>
>>This original MS source code, on the other hand, is covered by trade 
>>secret laws, which are far stricter. Putting it bluntly - if you touch 
>>it knowing where it came from, or even unknowingly but ignoring common 
>>sense warnings that this is an illegally leaked version, you can 
>>probably not work on Wine again. The thing that is protected is not the 
>>expression (the code itself), as with copyright, but the ideas, which 
>>are deemed secret unless uncovered LAWFULLY.
>>    
>>
>
>Concerning the trade secret law vs copyright law, there is at least one
>Professor of Law who is disagreeing with you. This is (by US trade
>secret law) not a trade secret anymore:
>http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20040213181852642
>
>The copyright issue is tricky enough though.
>
>Rein.
>  
>
What I suggested, and I still do, is this.

Decide that you do not touch this code. If you are presented with info, 
if warning bells ring, avoid it. If not, don't feel bad about it even if 
it turns out afterwards that the info DID originate at the stolen code.

             Shachar

-- 
Shachar Shemesh
Lingnu Open Systems Consulting
http://www.lingnu.com/