27 Jan
2006
27 Jan
'06
1:46 a.m.
Hi,
On 1/26/06, Robert Shearman <rob(a)codeweavers.com> wrote:
I don't think this clause is strong enough. I
think that any developer
that saw the leaked source code should be banned from contributing to
ReactOS. Since there is no record of which parts of the Windows source
code that these people saw, if any part of ReactOS they contributed is
coincidentally similar to the Windows source then it could be deemed a
copyright violation.
But using that logic anyone that had ever seen AT&T Unix code would be
unable to write GNU and or Linux code. I don't buy that its a
copyright violation. Trade Secret maybe but copyright would be like
the header situation, as long as they are not directly coping how
could it be a derived work?
If any legal advice the project receives says there is
no problem in
these four cases then this argument becomes less rigid. However, in the
very least, I would still advocate adding a clause to say that, in the
future, if anyone was found or admits to have Windows source code in
their possession then they should be banned from committing.
I agree that anyone that currently HAS the source code for the leak
should be banned. Maybe I was not clear enough on that. My issue I
have a hard time telling some 15 year old kid who found the Windows
source code on a P2P network that he is screwed forever and cannot
write free software even if he deletes it. The legal council I spoke
with in effect suggested doing the rewrite and banning someone who had
seen the code but I do not agree with the idea that someone who makes
a mistake should be banned for life.
--
Steven Edwards - ReactOS and Wine developer
"There is one thing stronger than all the armies in the world, and
that is an idea whose time has come." - Victor Hugo