38 ms·
Has this been litigated? My extremely naive/uninformed view is that what they are asking to be taken down (a code repo) is not the software itself, but the ins
by dghlsakjg 4y ago
Has this been litigated?
My extremely naive/uninformed view is that what they are asking to be taken down (a code repo) is not the software itself, but the instructions for a computer.
How is this different from going after a book that tells you how to do something illegal? Publishing instructions for illegal activity is legal afaik…
- gjsman-1000 4y agoIn the United States, pure code could be a DMCA Section 1201 violation. Read about DeCSS as an example. In the US, code is recognized as having both an expression and a functional purpose. The functional purpose can, and often is, legally restricted. And if your code is very, very specific to accomplishing an illegal functional purpose, there’s a good chance “free expression” will fail for the same reason you can’t yell at the top of your lungs with a bullhorn in public for hours without being charged for public disturbance.
- dghlsakjg 4y agoAh. That makes legal sense. I don’t like it, but I get why it might be enforceable Does that mean that the gcode (Cnc instructions) for making, say, a machine gun are not legal, while the technical drawings are?
- boomboomsubban 4y agoThat would be an entirely seperate set of laws, and I have no idea what they are. This software is probably illegal as it's a tool to bypass DRM, which the DMCA explicitly says is illegal. Your gun example wouldn't have any DRM, so this part of the DMCA wouldn't apply.