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From: landman@hanami.Eng.Sun.COM (Howard A. Landman)
Newsgroups: rec.music.synth,comp.sys.apple2,comp.sys.amiga,comp.sys.mac.misc,comp.sys.ibm.pc.misc,misc.legal
Subject: Re: Do *NOT* reveal or mention "hacking" information (was Re: paper clip trick)
Message-ID: <3160@exodus.Eng.Sun.COM>
Date: 20 Nov 90 07:29:45 GMT
References: <2653@ttardis.UUCP>
Sender: news@exodus.Eng.Sun.COM
Followup-To: rec.music.synth
Organization: Sun Microsystems, Mt. View, Ca.
Lines: 18

In article <2653@ttardis.UUCP> rlw@ttardis.UUCP (Ron Wilson) writes:
>Do *NOT* reveal, or even mention, any information on how to defeat copy
>protection.  In the eyes of the law, doing so reduces the NET to the status
>of a pirate BBS.

This is, of course, utter hogwash.  Software owners have a legal right to
make backup copies of their software EVEN IF THE SOFTWARE IS COPY-PROTECTED!
Software copy protection can be extremely awkward, and even dangerous.
Do you REALLY want to give that 3-year-old who like playing with magnets
the uncopyable master disk to Reader Rabbit, so they can run (ruin?) it while
you're gone?  (Hint: No, you don't.)

It is legal to sell copy-protect-breaking software for just this reason.
If it's legal to sell it, it's certainly legal to TALK about it.

--
	Howard A. Landman
	landman@eng.sun.com -or- sun!landman