[A83] Re: Fwd: RE: TI-OS replacement
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[A83] Re: Fwd: RE: TI-OS replacement
Nick Tarleton writes:
> I asked TI for clarification. Can anybody understand/clarify this
> response? Are there really already alternative OSes?
The response is redundant. Even if they wanted to, they have no legal basis
for prohibiting anyone from writing software for their platform. They also
do not need to clarify that they prohibit writing software that infringes on
copyright or United States law.
There are two issues here. The first is whether or not the reverse
engineering done on the calculator hardware and software is legal for
interoperability purposes. There are several court cases that indicate this
is legal. Galoob v. Nintendo is a probably a good example:
http://cr.yp.to/softwarelaw.html
The other issue is whether or not patching the OS or installing a new OS
constitutes circumventing a copyright protection system. Unfortunately,
this most likely falls within that category, making it illegal under the
DMCA. However, this is a good example of where the DMCA restricts free
speech and fair use. Personally, I would not hesitate to release an
alternative OS simply because it might violate the DMCA.
Here is yet another example of why being a lawyer is more useful than being
a programmer.
--
David Phillips <david@acz.org>
http://david.acz.org/
References: