[CoLoCo] Live by the EULA Die by the EULA

[Paul Hummer]

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>> So, how soon do you think Microsoft will change the Windows EULA because
>> of this incident?  It would be so like them to do that in order to avoid
>> paying taxes.
>>    
> They can't.  Its one of the reinforcing features preventing reverse
> engineering.  If you own a product, you have the right to dismantle it
> and change it any way you want.  After all, a purchase implies that
> ownership has transferred to you (they may not have to support altered
> software, but since when has Microsoft supported their software for free
> anyway, lol).
> 
This absolutely not true in the US of A.  The DMCA protects companies
by providing paths of litigation to them for reverse engineering their
products REGARDLESS or the end use.  You don't own the license to use
the Xbox 360 in the manner it was designed, but that is all.  The
moment you pull code from a chip, or subvert the security encryptions,
you are in violation of the DMCA.  The same can be said for all types
of devices, although the ones that draw attention from the companies
who care are their high profile devices.

As someone who's received DMCA violation notices, I

What a EULA CAN'T do is change retroactively without notice.
Microsoft tried to pull this crap a while ago, saying that you had to
go to their site to find the most updated EULA, and the courts threw
it out.

I am not a lawyer, but I did do three years of pre-law (and have
thought about finishing that on multiple occasions), and I wrote a
very extensive paper on software patents, licenses, and EULAs.  I'll
have to dig around for the original, but ownership in the US means
that you can use the device for its intended purpose, and that is
all.  That's why it's best to buy devices that flat out say things
like "please hack this" and such, like the Chumby!

Paul
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