I'm not a lawyer so I'm definitely going to refrain from commenting on the
legal aspect. I think what I was trying to say is the legalities shouldn't
excuse or determine what we think.
I understand your points in any event. I don't know if they translate into
the real world or not. I can imagine a lawyer making that argument in court
though and it may legally excuse certain types of reverse engineering work
that would otherwise be illegal.
Usually reverse engineering requires a 'clean room' environment. It may be
acceptable given the license for a dirty reverse engineering project to take
place under the circumstances and be totally within the law due to the
license.
