27 Jan
2006
27 Jan
'06
12:32 a.m.
Steven Edwards wrote:
4) any developer that had access to leaked sources is
baned from
contributing code to the project for any of the modules that are the
same as leaked sources they examined.
So to clarify that, lets say someone saw some of the leaked Windows
source code in version.dll, then they would be unable to contribute
code to the ReactOS project for that dll.
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.
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.
You can walk very close to the line, but the damages from a potential
Microsoft lawsuit are so great that it would seem sensible to not go
anywhere near the line.
--
Rob Shearman