[Wine] DMCA and EU Copyright laws

[David C. Kerber]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: wine-users-bounces at winehq.org 
> [mailto:wine-users-bounces at winehq.org] On Behalf Of jtnire
> Sent: Tuesday, April 27, 2010 10:51 AM
> To: wine-users at winehq.org
> Subject: [Wine] Re: DMCA and EU Copyright laws
> 
> I've actually found something in UK law (I'm from the UK), 
> which may explicitly allow what WINE has done with the 
> various forms of copy protection:
> 
> 
> Code:
> Decompilation.
>     50B.-(1)  [b]It is not an infringement[/b] of copyright 
> for a lawful user of a copy of a computer program expressed 
> in a low level language-
> 
>       (a) to convert it into a version expressed in a higher 
> level language, or
> 
>       (b) incidentally in the course of so converting the 
> program, to copy it,
> 
> (that is, to "decompile" it), provided that the conditions in 
> subsection (2) are met.
> 
>     (2)  The conditions are that-
> 
>       (a) it is necessary to decompile the program [b]to 
> obtain the information necessary to create an independent 
> program which can be operated with the program decompiled or 
> with another program[/b] ("the permitted objective"); and
> 
>       (b) the information so obtained is not used for any 
> purpose other than the permitted objective.
> 
> 
>     (3)  In particular, the conditions in subsection (2) are 
> not met if the lawful user-
> 
>       (a) has readily available to him the information 
> necessary to achieve the permitted objective;
> 
>       (b) does not confine the decompiling to such acts as 
> are necessary to achieve the permitted objective;
> 
>       (c) supplies the information obtained by the 
> decompiling to any person to whom it is not necessary to 
> supply it in order to achieve the permitted objective; or
> 
>       (d) uses the information to create a program which is 
> substantially similar in its expression to the program 
> decompiled or to do any act restricted by copyright.
> 
> 
> 
> IANAL btw
> 
> What do you think?

I think you're mixing up Wine itself, and the applications that users may install and use on it.

D