Hi!
22-Авг-2004 15:00 [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Luchezar Georgiev) wrote to
[EMAIL PROTECTED]:
>> All that MS does - enclose _public_ information into own file format.
LG> What is permitted for Zeus, is not permitted for mortals! :-( That's
LG> exactly what I meant when I wrote that Microsoft are the biggest thefts.
Distributing public information is not thefting. :) But I know that
(some) big corporations _do_ thefting. For example, Sony theft Walkman idea
(AFAIR, from Bulgarian inventor), Logitech was reject co-operation with
Russian developers, but then (quietly) reuse their ideas in own mice. :(
LG> Even their first Basic interpreter was from public domain sources. Not
Yes. And Gates even complains that his sources was copied without
asking. :)
LG> speaking about QDOS -> MS-DOS,
QD-DOS (Quick&Dirty DOS) was buyed.
LG> Lattice C -> Microsoft C,
Do you sure, that MSC is a LC?
LG> VMS -> NT, and so on.
NT developed by Cuttler (almost?) from scratch, there is no (explicit)
thefting.
>> Thus, I don't think that this is "beyond fair use" to reuse this public
>> information. Violation (probably!) if we use original MS files and/or
>> their format, but layouts are not property of MS.
LG> Their COUNTRY.SYS format is safe to use, because PTS-DOS and OS/2 also use
LG> it and nobody has sued PhysTechSoft or IBM yet ;-)
There is not include files from MS-DOS with "Copyright by MS" stamp
inside.
LG> I've never understood
LG> copyright well (and even think that copyright is anti-natural!)
Copyright and patents purpose is a social good: copyright protects
author's rights to control his work; patent (should) guarantee, that
inventor returns his R&D investements, and that society gets invention into
public use after some period of time. Earlier, without patenting, secrets
was died with its carriers. Unfortunately, each coin have two (and even
three) sides: for example, through email we now spammed; US PTO gives
patents not only for inventions, but for anything nonsense (Australian PTO,
which works same, give patent for wheel!).
LG> but I don't think that a file format or data structures can be
LG> copyrighted at all.
There is some dark (for me) area, which relate to design and formats.
But, as I understand, if you not use discussed data structures (neither
distribute foreign data files), only allow to use these files _with_ your
software, all should be fine. (Unless "data structure" handling includes
some proprietary algorithms, like with MP3 and MP3pro, which are patented by
Thomson Multimedia and Fraunhoffer Institute, and you can't play MP3 files,
unless pay roylty for them).
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