Re: [ros-general] Mailing lists

[Betam4x]

The only thing that would really make ReactOS legal here is the DMCA.  
IF Microsoft chose to push for legal action (see below) then they would 
use the DMCA.

As to whether microsoft would push for legal action, that is another 
topic entirely.  Going after the ReactOS project would be anti 
competitive.  The courts would CLEARLY see this, as long as we can prove 
we aren't 'stealing' from them (copying their code, using copyrighted 
materials, etc.) then we'd actually have a pretty good shot of getting 
the whole thing thrown out.

The goal here is to have a compatible operating system, but not a 
clone.  Make the user interfaces similar so most users don't have to 
relearn an operating system, but don't 'copy' any given thing.  This 
invites a court fight.

At any rate, i think it is too early for Microsoft to even be interested 
in us.  ReactOS still runs very few applications.  Unless there is a 
very big push for compatibility, we likely don't have anything to worry 
about.

Richard

Steven Edwards wrote:

>  Stephen,
>
> --- Stephen Hodges <theteofscuba(a)hotmail.com> wrote:
>   
>
> >  If you aren't sure if its legal or not you
> > probably are already aware
> > of the
> > shaky legal grounds, and you might as well assume it is illegal until
> > proven
> > otherwise.
> >     
> >  
> I am not attempting to defraud anyone and I live in a country that is
> based on the free market economy. I refuse to accept that ever action I
> take could be illegal until it is shown to me otherwise. There is a
> term in law called "Mens Rea" which translates to legal intent. I am
> not willfully trying to break any known law and we believe that are
> actions are 100% legal. If it is found later on that are actions are
> illegal it is up to the legal system to prove that we had prior
> knowledge and willfully broke the law. That does not mean that by not
> knowing the law there is no punishment but it does mean in most cases
> it is much less. Until such time as someone with a real legal ground
> says otherwise then we can assume we are still operating within the
> law.
>
> Also note that I have discussed this with other lawyers and they seem
> to agree that what we are doing should be legal even if it is not. If
> that is the case then litigation may be the only course of action long
> term. That does not mean we should stop working on ReactOS. It means we
> need to keep working on it and change the law.
>
> Thanks
> Steven
>
>
> 		
> __________________________________
> Do you Yahoo!?
> New and Improved Yahoo! Mail - Send 10MB messages!
> http://promotions.yahoo.com/new_mail 
> _______________________________________________
> ros-general mailing list
> ros-general(a)reactos.com
> http://reactos.com/mailman/listinfo/ros-general
>
>   
>