5 ms·

Openmw is a clean room implementation. Bethesda could throw a legal fit regardless but it would be indefensible for them to do so.

magic_hamster 3y ago
They can still take you to court for a cost which is negligible to them, but not to OpenMW developers.
- iforgotpassword 3y ago
  ... In countries with broken legal systems.
  - immibis 3y ago
    ... i.e. all of them.
DrOctagon 3y ago
What does clean room mean in this context? Never decompiling the target?
- bc_programming 3y ago
  "Clean room" reverse engineering basically has you with two completely separate groups of developers. One group will decompile and analyze the target software, and build a detailed specification of how it works. The second group, with legal, sworn documents that they have never seen even the machine code of the target software - uses those specifications to build the "clone".
- SXX 3y ago
  Usually clean room mean those writing the code and people who decompiling are different people. So code is written against specification. So no it's unlikely to actually be fully clean room project, but written from scratch.
sandworm101 3y ago
Clean rooms protect from patent issues, but do little to protect against copyright or trademark actions. The fact that one creates totally new code from scratch means nothing if the end product is too similar to the existing copyrighted work.
- kevinmchugh 3y ago
  No, clean rooms are a mechanism that allows a team to avoid copyright infringement by ensuring that the developers have never seen the copyrighted code.
  - sandworm101 3y ago
    The code avoids copyright, if it is actually different. The end product doesn't if it is still similar to the copyrighted work. Use a computer to rewrite Harry Potter all you want, but if it comes up with the same book it doesn't matter how you got there.
    - deleted 3y ago
      [deleted]
    - marcinzm 3y ago
      That's not a clean room implementation. A clean room would be having a description for the game of quidditch (game rules are not copyrightable just like specifications for software) and then writing a background story to explain it without ever having read a single word of Harry Potter. If that comes out anywhere similar to the Harry Potter books I'd be utterly amazed.
      - sandworm101 3y ago
        >> If that comes out anywhere similar to the Harry Potter books I'd be utterly amazed. Considering that "Harry Potter" is not an uncommon name in the UK (I've met two) nor is the concept of a wizard school, or riding broomsticks, or house teams, I suspect that AI today might be able to generate something that would get Rowling's attention.

magic_hamster 3y ago

They can still take you to court for a cost which is negligible to them, but not to OpenMW developers.

iforgotpassword 3y ago
... In countries with broken legal systems.
- immibis 3y ago
  ... i.e. all of them.

DrOctagon 3y ago

What does clean room mean in this context? Never decompiling the target?

bc_programming 3y ago
"Clean room" reverse engineering basically has you with two completely separate groups of developers. One group will decompile and analyze the target software, and build a detailed specification of how it works. The second group, with legal, sworn documents that they have never seen even the machine code of the target software - uses those specifications to build the "clone".
SXX 3y ago
Usually clean room mean those writing the code and people who decompiling are different people. So code is written against specification. So no it's unlikely to actually be fully clean room project, but written from scratch.

sandworm101 3y ago

Clean rooms protect from patent issues, but do little to protect against copyright or trademark actions. The fact that one creates totally new code from scratch means nothing if the end product is too similar to the existing copyrighted work.

kevinmchugh 3y ago
No, clean rooms are a mechanism that allows a team to avoid copyright infringement by ensuring that the developers have never seen the copyrighted code.
- sandworm101 3y ago
  The code avoids copyright, if it is actually different. The end product doesn't if it is still similar to the copyrighted work. Use a computer to rewrite Harry Potter all you want, but if it comes up with the same book it doesn't matter how you got there.
  - deleted 3y ago
    [deleted]
  - marcinzm 3y ago
    That's not a clean room implementation. A clean room would be having a description for the game of quidditch (game rules are not copyrightable just like specifications for software) and then writing a background story to explain it without ever having read a single word of Harry Potter. If that comes out anywhere similar to the Harry Potter books I'd be utterly amazed.
    - sandworm101 3y ago
      >> If that comes out anywhere similar to the Harry Potter books I'd be utterly amazed. Considering that "Harry Potter" is not an uncommon name in the UK (I've met two) nor is the concept of a wizard school, or riding broomsticks, or house teams, I suspect that AI today might be able to generate something that would get Rowling's attention.