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Apple Cuts Off Under-18 Darwin Developer

Posted by pudge on from the kids-are-sooo-cuuute dept.

Crispyking writes "Finlay Dobbie has been a leading contributor to the Darwin project, most notably helping track down the infamous PPP-hang bug. He's been nominated to become a Darwin contributor (which comes with limited check-in privileges) but when going through the process, Apple found out he's under 18 years old, and not only refused to let him be a contributor to this 'open source' project, but canceled his Apple Developer Connection membership (which gives him download access to the source code) on the grounds that because he's under 18, he can't be legally bound to the small-print agreement." Update: 03/26 00:26 GMT by P : Finlay wrote in email that he wasn't getting the Darwin source through his ADC account, but through a third party development project, which he resigned from as a result of all the red tape and the ADC account being disabled.

6 of 710 comments (clear)

  1. Revenge... by SkyLeach · · Score: 0, Redundant

    Apple has publically admitted he is not bound by the agreement.

    He could GPL all the code on his disk and screw Apple if he wanted.

    --
    My $0.02 will always be worth more than your â0.02, so :-p
  2. ICRGAS by Doctor+Fishboy · · Score: 0, Redundant

    IANAL, but then again ICRGAS(*) about this. Apple are just obeying the law. I hope they can get it sorted out though, as he seems to have contributed a lot to the project.

    Dr Fish

    (*) I Couldn't Really Give A Shit

  3. parent or guardian? by Lxy · · Score: 1, Redundant

    AFAIK, a minor can enter such legal agreements as long as a parent or guardian is willing to cosign all the paperwork. I'd think that Apple's legal team would at least look into the possiblities of various methods that would allow him to continue his work, if he is indeed of such value to the code.

    --

    There is no reasonable defense against an idiot with an agenda
    :wq
  4. Re:What about EULAs? by leviramsey · · Score: 0, Redundant
    Not bound to fine print eh.. does that mean he could do whatever he wanted with purchased software, ignoring EULAs since he's not bound?! perfect! reverse engineering and hacking for everybody!

    Yes, he's not bound by the EULA. However, since the EULA is not valid, he would not have the right to install the software in any form (since such rights are only granted by the EULA). So technically no one under the age of eighteen can install Microsoft software (or GPL software for that matter, it has more than a few EULA like clauses).

  5. EULA and so forth? by Sly+Mongoose · · Score: 1, Redundant

    Does this mean that under-18 purchasers are not bound by the EULA? So that DMCA and so forth don't apply?

  6. Re:Gotta love contract law by AxelBoldt · · Score: 1, Redundant
    Being a minor, NO contract he agrees to is valid - he could do anything he wanted to with whatever information he gets from Apple.

    In other words, shrink wrap licenses don't apply to minors? They can do whatever they want with software they buy (short of breaking copyright law)? Cool. Finally a reason to get kids.