[Freeciv] Re: software license violation

[Tony Stuckey <stuckey@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

On Thu, Jul 20, 2000 at 11:27:40PM +0100, Jules Bean wrote:
> My personal feeling is that there is a substantial precedent for what
> we are doing.  I think it is analagous to creating a 'clean-room'
> library to meet a published API (which is known to be legal). I also
> feel that there is substantial precedent in the commercial gaming
> market -- look at all the games out there which are basically direct
> clones of each other rules-wise, but with new graphics and a few
> enhancements.

        Clean-room engineering is working from a specification only without
ever having seen a working prototype.  Certain freeciv developers may be in
that position, but most aren't.
        Clean-room reverse engineering is having two teams -- one to write
the specification through testing a prototype, and one to implement it.
"And never the twain shall meet", or the clean-room aspect is blown.
Clearly we are not doing that.

        CRRE is clearly legal -- that's how the PC-clones escaped IBM's
control, and that has been tested in court.  IBM sued hard and fast, and
lost.
-- 
Anthony J. Stuckey                              stuckey@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"And they said work hard, and die suddenly, because it's fun."
        -Robyn Hitchcock.