Re: Why DRM exists [was Re: Flame Linus to a crisp!]

Matthias Schniedermeyer
2003-04-28T19:52:18Z

On Sun, Apr 27, 2003 at 03:32:55PM -0700, Larry McVoy wrote:

> I don't think it is exclusively the open source folks that have the
> business guys worried, they are also worried about the illegal wholesale
> replication of the software which occurs in places like China.

apples? pears?

100% copy or "binary clone" of a software is illegal, thats correct.

Reimplementing the "ideas" behind a software is legal.

Otherweise there wouldn't be Bitkeeper. "100% original invention" is
impossibel today. At least for a "nontrivial" software. And i guess
Bitkeeper isn't "trivial" (-> it's more than a oneliner).

Bis denn

--
Real Programmers consider "what you see is what you get" to be just as
bad a concept in Text Editors as it is in women. No, the Real Programmer
wants a "you asked for it, you got it" text editor -- complicated,
cryptic, powerful, unforgiving, dangerous.