Re: modify program object

From: jt <jt@xxxxxx>
> First off, isn't this the technique Arctirex (sp?) DOES use in their
> Web-facing-like product?  (They just duplicated some functionality in
> another library, iirc.  I don't recall if they modify the SEPT, but concept
> is basically the same, afaik from reading these lists.)  Has IBM hurt their
> product or sued them??  I dunno.
>

What they did, was to make a local copy of the SEPT, then modify
that. Now, making a copy is theoretically an infringement on the copyright
holder's right, so is technically illegal, but, again, it is the copyright
holder's decision to complain about this or not. That right is weakened,
though, if one doesn't complain ALL the time. But all of this is extremely
murky and has scarcely been considered by the courts, so nobody
knows. I guess that is the bottom line: nobody knows. And this is
the sad thing. It is hard to be legal when nobody knows what the
law really is. As it stands now, the (unknown) legal issues may
have a chilling effect on the  whole problem, which is OK, I guess,
for IBM and others of that ilk.