[ros-dev] IP Policy

[Ge van Geldorp]

> From: Steven Edwards
> 
> Sorry I typed in a bit of a rush. I think we can claim 
> ReactOS is a independent work if this information cannot be 
> gained via any other method than reverse engineering and 
> disassembly of object code. We have a IP document that while 
> never voted on was not objected to by anyone.
> 
> http://www.reactos.org/xhtml/en/dev_legalreview.html
> 
> I think we should vote on it and I propose we amend it to 
> state something like the following:
> 
> "Reverse engineering and Disassembly of object code are 
> allowed only after all attempts to gather information via 
> independent test cases have failed."

I don't have a problem with reverse engineering per se, but what we fail to
do at the moment is use the information obtained from that in a clean room
manner. I.e. at the moment the same person that looks at the object code
also provides the ReactOS implementation. I think that's dangerous, I
believe most (court) cases where reverse engineering was found acceptable
were clean room cases. So I'd like to amend the IP policy with something
like:

If there is no other option than to reverse engineer/disassemble object
code, the person who reverse engineered the code shall put his findings in a
document describing the interface. That person can not implement the
corresponding code in ReactOS, implementation shall be done by a different
person (or group of persons), working only from the interface description.

We can then keep the document in svn so we can present an audit trail if
asked to produce one.

GvG