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On 08/17/2001 6:04 PM, Andrew Plato (intrepid_es -at- yahoo -dot- com) wrote:
>The same
>protection that guards MeloNasty, Inc. from stealing your art also
>protects Adobe from Duncan Hackerbutt from breaking their software and
>distributing illegal copies or ways to acquire illegal usage.
Those laws generally don't apply (well, didn't *used to* apply before the
odious DCMA was passed in the U.S.) when there's a legitimate, legal use
for the tools, such as making backups, moving the copy to a different
computer, using the product on a computer other than Mac or Windows, or
reinstalling after a system crash. Just because a knife can be used to
stab someone, doesn't mean we outlaw knives.
As for your later analogy:
>If I told a pack of criminals how to break into your house - am I liable
>for the break-in? YES. That's called aiding and abetting.
If you tell people where my windows aren't locked, sure, you might be
liable. If you tell people that Yale locks have a serious flaw and tell
people how to take advantage of it, and I'm stupid enough to depend on
Yale locks after that, are you liable when they break into my house? Nope.
If there's a legal use for a technology, it's evil to punish people for
making it. Instead, a just society punishes those who make illegal use of
the technology. Period.
----->Mike
________________________________________________________________
stockman -at- jagunet -dot- com -- AOL and AOL Instant Messenger:MStockman
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A landmark hotel, one of America's most beautiful cities, and
three and a half days of immersion in the state of the art:
IPCC 01, Oct. 24-27 in Santa Fe. http://ieeepcs.org/2001/
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