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On Wed, 21 Jan 1998, Robert J. Brown wrote: > > Which of course makes it even less useful for someone to "steal" your > code. Generally, hardware (other than PALs, ROMs, FPGAs, and full > custom ASICs) can be reverse engineered by just looking inside the > device one purchased. Software is not "visible" in that same way. > > If your hardware is truley unique and you want to protect it, then > patent it. If it is not unique, then where's the beef? The only > downside I can see is if you stole your hardware technology and need > to keep its inards secret to keep from getting busted! > > But if you stole it, then you had to steal the software too. But if > software was unprotectable IP, then you were welcome to steal it; you > just wouldn't legaly have hardware to run it on unless you licensed > use of the inventor's patent. > > I repeat, of all the places where software is used, embedded systems > seem to be the place that least needs IP protection. If your product > *IS* for a PC, and is a pure software product, then give away the > software and sell the support. That way, even people who get your > software second hand will still need your support. There may be little need for IP legal protection because of the high cost of stealing/reproducing the hardware but there are cases where the payoff has been high enough to justify it. All of us who are old enough will remember tales that the USSR had cloned some old IBM mainframes down to the color of the wires. I also recall that they actually duplicated an early microprocessor like the 8080. I know of weapons system which consider the hardware configuration very tightly held information. The power of the microprocessor indicates what type of functionality might be in the unit. Some systems have "magic buttons" which wipe out programmable parts if the unit must be abandoned. The "customer" (i.e. the military) should get the source code and hardware information without question but this information can not be made freely available. I have heard that one issue in movies which utilize military systems like submarines, aircraft,etc is that the dials must be regraduated so the true speed/depth/altitude capabilities of the system are not obvious from the red line on the gauge. :) I am not pretending this is an argument for not giving the source code for embedded systems just that there are security and safety concerns which must be considered for many systems. Would you want to be dependent on an elevator, public transportation, or traffic control system which have been "updated" by a random individual? --joel Joel Sherrill Director of Research & Development joel@OARcorp.com On-Line Applications Research Ask me about RTEMS: a free RTOS Huntsville AL 35805 Support Available (205) 722-9985