A89: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: CORRECTION: Shift+ON

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A89: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: CORRECTION: Shift+ON


> > My SDK license says that I can't say anything until TI releases
> > the material publically, which, if they use 90 days of alpha
> > testing and 90 days of beta testing (the 83+ SDK beta was 90
> > days, which is where that number comes from), is maybe 5 months
> > down the road.
>
> Does it mean that reproducing their info will be legal after they
> releases the material publically? I don't think so.

Yes, it does.  The SDK falls under US trade secret laws.  This means that
anyone who releases the information without permission is subject to large
fines and such, but if the information somehow makes its way into the public
domain, then anyone is free to talk about it.  That means that I can't talk
about anything you guys don't know about, but if, say, Johan reverse
engineers a new ROM Call tomorrow, then it's in the public domain and free
to be discussed.  It also means that if Mike were to leak the SDK tomorrow
illegally, he would be in trouble, but once it's in the public domain I am
no longer obligated to keep quiet about it.

This works out well, as all you need is proof that said information was
public.  TIGCCLIB has been public for a long time, so I can freely discuss
anything already in there.  You could not get in trouble for, say, releasing
a bugfix, or releasing a new version that did not use any SDK info (like the
interrupt stuff you mentioned), without any worry.

It also means that as soon as TI releases the SDK publically tomorrow, then
you are free to use/discuss it tomorrow, just like that.  It also means that
TI could decide never to release the SDK, meaning you would be bound for the
full 3 years that the agreement lasts for (not likely, but possible =)

If that's not enough for you, the following paragraph is from my license
agreement:

"Unless the Pre Release Code has been publicly announced by TI it is
considered to be proprietary information and
subject to trade secret protection. You agree that you will not disclose any
information concerning the Pre Release
Code to any third parties for three (3) years following the date of this
letter. This obligation to protect information
about the Pre Release Code ceases if TI makes the information public; or TI
intentionally furnishes the information to
another party without restriction."

    -Scott
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