Not if it is a piece of software containing anything that could remotely be called a trade secret. Don't you know it is illegal to reverse engineer software. Some of the copyright laws need to be reigned in. Freedom of Information is critical to innovation.
The ever expanding duration of copywrite laws slows the distribution of information. The same with the expansion of patents to cover software containing trade Secrets. According to the constitution the congress shall have the power "to promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries." The longer these rights are extended the longer it takes the discoveries to become public domain. Thus countries that do not abide by our copyright and pattent laws gain an unfair advantage.
Patent law springs from the constitutional mandate giving Congress the right to "To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries;"
How does this patent Promote Progress and in what usefull art or science?
The way I see it DRM solutions are going to be self-policing. The ones that are incompatible with most of the hardware are going to have users returning the items or refusing to buy more items with the same DRM solution. The ones that do work just give crackers something new to work on. This is a rare point in history where companies are trying to make their product less user friendly. I predict that companies who adopt strict DRM solutions are going to have a harder time competing with the smaller organizations that do not. Once someone supplies artists with a method of getting reimbursed for their efforts that cuts out the overhead that is evident in the motion picture and recording industries the point will be moot.
The only thing that can change this outcome is a combination of a monopoly and the "Super DMCA" or similar legislation that is being pushed in some states.
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Try asking them. Offer up your resources and let the students come up with a class plan. You all may learn something.
Not if it is a piece of software containing anything that could remotely be called a trade secret. Don't you know it is illegal to reverse engineer software. Some of the copyright laws need to be reigned in. Freedom of Information is critical to innovation.
The ever expanding duration of copywrite laws slows the distribution of information. The same with the expansion of patents to cover software containing trade Secrets. According to the constitution the congress shall have the power "to promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries." The longer these rights are extended the longer it takes the discoveries to become public domain. Thus countries that do not abide by our copyright and pattent laws gain an unfair advantage.
"Computers are useless. They can only give you answers" -- Pablo Picasso
Patent law springs from the constitutional mandate giving Congress the right to "To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries;" How does this patent Promote Progress and in what usefull art or science?
The way I see it DRM solutions are going to be self-policing. The ones that are incompatible with most of the hardware are going to have users returning the items or refusing to buy more items with the same DRM solution. The ones that do work just give crackers something new to work on. This is a rare point in history where companies are trying to make their product less user friendly. I predict that companies who adopt strict DRM solutions are going to have a harder time competing with the smaller organizations that do not. Once someone supplies artists with a method of getting reimbursed for their efforts that cuts out the overhead that is evident in the motion picture and recording industries the point will be moot. The only thing that can change this outcome is a combination of a monopoly and the "Super DMCA" or similar legislation that is being pushed in some states.