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Re: Results of "downloading compressed program images" request


>>>>> "Richard" == Richard Stallman <rms@santafe.edu> writes:

    >>> me in many instances.  Why not give away the source code?  It
    >>> is useless without the hardware to run it on.
    >>  I think you're right--I wish that more embedded developers had
    >> this view.

    Richard>     then how do you protect a proprietary hardware design

    Richard> In general, if something makes it hard for people to keep
    Richard> the specs of hardware secret, I would consider that a
    Richard> step forward.  The concealment of hardware designs for PC
    Richard> hardware has been a great problem for the free software
    Richard> community.  I have little sympathy with someone who wants
    Richard> to keep hardware specs secret merely so as to beat out
    Richard> someone else.

I think that the view here is that secrecy is easier than disclosure
because disclosure means patents (which are a form of disclosure, as
are copyrights) and copyrights.  Propriety of disclosed intellectual
property may be violated, especially in countries where suitable
treaties do not exist, or are hard to enforce.  Enforcement implies
litigation, which is not a pleasent process for anyone except the
courts and lawyers, for whom it is their business.  Trade secrets mean 
non-disclosure, and violation is enforced by state law, not federal
law as in the case of other IP.

So the reason to not disclose is pure pragmatism and the associated
economics.  Another, darker, reason to not disclose is that you are
yourself infringing on the IP of others.

If software were not protectable IP, developers of embedded systems
would be in pretty good shape anyway, since they could always keep it
a trade secret.  By not being protectable, licensing would not apply
either.  The ones that might have trouble would be the developers of
purely software products, since they would have nothing to protect.
The alternative here is to use the Cygnus model -- give away the
software, but sell the service on that software.

-- 
--------  "And there came a writing to him from Elijah"  [2Ch 21:12]  --------
Robert Jay Brown III rj@eli.elilabs.com  http://www.elilabs.com 1 847 705-0424
Elijah Laboratories Inc.;  37 South Greenwood Avenue;  Palatine, IL 60067-6328
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