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User: pavelcurtis

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  1. Re:how about the right of consumers to know... on Federal Judge Rules Against Reverse-engineering · · Score: 2, Interesting

    You don't have this "right" in any other domain, so why would you claim it in the case of software?

    You have the right, in other domains, to *try* to discover how a product works, for example by trying to literally disassemble it. But if I make a (physical) product that you can't take apart without destroying it, are you seriously saying that that's somehow a violation of your rights (because I've prevented you from "knowing if it's doing what it says it's doing")?

    A different case could possibly be made, that this violates your right to take apart anything you've bought. Aside from other problems, though, this software was probably licensed, not sold outright. Again, in the physical realm, you don't have the right to take apart things that you're only licensed to use (e.g., a rental car).

    Finally, as to the court "granting this company impermeability to review or criticism", isn't that a protection you'd want to be pretty careful about giving up for yourself, personally? It seems to me that, in essence, that kind of impermeability is precisely what the fifth-ammendment right against self-incrimination is all about.