Generally, the license for use on almost all software says the software maker, seller, seller's grandmother etc., cannot be held liable even of their software crashes, loses business, causes your computer to explode, or impregnates your dog.
shark
I don't think it's against the law to do security research, these lawyers are just trying to stretch the DMCA to cover this guys bug notices. A lot of what they sent sounds like bolier plate put together and sent out to anyone and everyone. These (crappy) lawyers are probably just counting on him not wanting to have to defend himself in court.
The bugs he seems to have raised are not directly circumventing encryption, a good lawyer would probably argue that the point of encryption is security, and by posting something that can crack the security of their software, you are circumventing security. The problem is that courts often don't understand the nuances of software - client server issues, encryption. etc.
Unfortunately, I'm still in law school right now (as a matter of fact posting from Civil Procedure class), otherwise I'd take this guy's case for pro bono just to try to whittle away the DMCA.
shark.
Slashdot Mirror
Generally, the license for use on almost all software says the software maker, seller, seller's grandmother etc., cannot be held liable even of their software crashes, loses business, causes your computer to explode, or impregnates your dog. shark
I don't think it's against the law to do security research, these lawyers are just trying to stretch the DMCA to cover this guys bug notices. A lot of what they sent sounds like bolier plate put together and sent out to anyone and everyone. These (crappy) lawyers are probably just counting on him not wanting to have to defend himself in court. The bugs he seems to have raised are not directly circumventing encryption, a good lawyer would probably argue that the point of encryption is security, and by posting something that can crack the security of their software, you are circumventing security. The problem is that courts often don't understand the nuances of software - client server issues, encryption. etc. Unfortunately, I'm still in law school right now (as a matter of fact posting from Civil Procedure class), otherwise I'd take this guy's case for pro bono just to try to whittle away the DMCA. shark.