[A83] Re: apps
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[A83] Re: apps
> We could do it if people wanted to, the problem is the use that it would
> get (takes up a minimum of 16K). However, given TI's attitude twards some
> things, would this be a DeCSS type fiasco? (I don't think they would, but
> still...)
This is an interesting question. I am not a lawyer, and haven't seen
anything regarding the legality of this, so this is just my opinion.
Because the calculator is not software, there is no "shrink-wrap" type
license that you must agree to before using it (although I do not know if
the legality of shrink-wrap licenses have ever been tested in court).
Cracking the encryption in order to send applications to the calculator
seems similar to breaking a video game console's hardware protection in
order to develop games for the system without being licensed to by the
hardware manufacturer. There have been several court cases on this issue.
Two that come to mind are Nintendo versus Tengen (Atari, over Tetris), and
Sega versus Acclaim (?). I haven't researched it, but I know that Tengen
Tetris was pulled from game shelves (they might have just not had enough
money to fight Nintendo), and remember hearing it quoted that Sega lost. In
the Sega case, it had to do with needing to put a specific phrase such as
"SEGA" into the cart ROM in order for the system to run the game. In this
case, it could be argued that it is merely data and not text (since it's
never seen, how can you say what character set is being used?) and that
since it must be present for the game to run, it is "fair use". The Game
Boy requires the Nintendo logo to be present in all carts, presumably for
the same purpose. I do not know if there have been any court cases on this
issue.
However, digital signatures are a different issue. I believe that a digital
signature can be used to legally prove identity in court (for things such as
email), but again, I don't know of any specific cases. Cracking a private
key used for a digital signature would then be similar to forging a real
signature, which is illegal. Therefore, finding TI's private key and then
using it to sign and distribute applications would be the same as saying
that they are officially signed by TI. Just like if someone released
programs under your name. You can't sell your own software in a store and
put the "Microsoft" name on it. To me, using someone else's digital
signature to sign software seems like the same thing.
I had a similar thought after seeing the article on Slashdot about using the
XBox for an Apache web server. If Microsoft used encryption in a similar
way to TI to keep unlicensed DVD's from running on their hardware, then it
might be impossible to sell or distribute unlicensed software signed with a
forged Microsoft private key. It also might be possible to copyright
private keys, so that it would be illegal to distribute the key necessary to
sign software. If this were true, then it would be impossible to distribute
an unsigned CD image, and allow people to sign it themselves before using
it.
Again, I'm not a lawyer, so unless you are, there isn't much point in
arguing about this. But I would be wary about attempting to crack TI's
private key and distribute applications signed by it. If you can't afford
the measly $100 for a signing, then you sure can't afford to take TI to
court over it.
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