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In the EU, reverse engineering is allowed, but only for the purpose of making something that interoperates with the product you're reverse engineering, and does

by tbodt 9y ago

In the EU, reverse engineering is allowed, but only for the purpose of making something that interoperates with the product you're reverse engineering, and does not compete with that product.

deleted 9y ago
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GordonS 9y ago
Do you have a reference for this? It would really help me settle a recent argument with a work colleague who thinks that reverse engineering a SAP HTTP API is not OK
- twic 9y ago
  It's apparently in directive 2009/24: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reverse_engineering#European_Union https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reverse_engineering#European_U... I think you'd want to know about the case law before leaning too heavily on that, though.
- detaro 9y ago
  The EU basis is Directive 2009/24. Given it is a directive, each member state has local laws implementing it, so the exact details might vary. http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?qid=1435057541496&uri=CELEX:32009L0024 http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?qid=143505754... Article 5 and Article 6 are the most interesting when it comes to reverse engineering, with 5 allowing to study an application while using it legally and breaking some protected rights for bug fixes and 6 allowing decompilation for some purposes.
- gmueckl 9y ago
  This case of SAS vs. World Learning first went to court in the UK and from there to the CJEU which had a few substantial clarifications. These are quoted here in Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SAS_Institute_Inc_v_World_Programming_Ltd#Court_of_Justice_of_the_European_Union_reference https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SAS_Institute_Inc_v_World_Prog... Does this help you?
- jacquesm 9y ago
  Your #1 way to resolve that issue is to pass it to corporate legal if you have such a department.
Normal_gaussian 9y ago
In the EU what WPL has done is allowed, it has gone through those courts already. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SAS_Institute_Inc_v_World_Programming_Ltd#Court_of_Justice_of_the_European_Union_reference https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SAS_Institute_Inc_v_World_Prog... Notably only the way WPL produces manuals that are too similar to SAS has been upheld.

by tbodt 9y ago

In the EU, reverse engineering is allowed, but only for the purpose of making something that interoperates with the product you're reverse engineering, and does not compete with that product.

deleted 9y ago

[deleted]

GordonS 9y ago

Do you have a reference for this? It would really help me settle a recent argument with a work colleague who thinks that reverse engineering a SAP HTTP API is not OK

twic 9y ago
It's apparently in directive 2009/24: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reverse_engineering#European_Union https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reverse_engineering#European_U... I think you'd want to know about the case law before leaning too heavily on that, though.
detaro 9y ago
The EU basis is Directive 2009/24. Given it is a directive, each member state has local laws implementing it, so the exact details might vary. http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?qid=1435057541496&uri=CELEX:32009L0024 http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?qid=143505754... Article 5 and Article 6 are the most interesting when it comes to reverse engineering, with 5 allowing to study an application while using it legally and breaking some protected rights for bug fixes and 6 allowing decompilation for some purposes.
gmueckl 9y ago
This case of SAS vs. World Learning first went to court in the UK and from there to the CJEU which had a few substantial clarifications. These are quoted here in Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SAS_Institute_Inc_v_World_Programming_Ltd#Court_of_Justice_of_the_European_Union_reference https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SAS_Institute_Inc_v_World_Prog... Does this help you?
jacquesm 9y ago
Your #1 way to resolve that issue is to pass it to corporate legal if you have such a department.

Normal_gaussian 9y ago

In the EU what WPL has done is allowed, it has gone through those courts already. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SAS_Institute_Inc_v_World_Programming_Ltd#Court_of_Justice_of_the_European_Union_reference https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SAS_Institute_Inc_v_World_Prog... Notably only the way WPL produces manuals that are too similar to SAS has been upheld.