🚀 go-pugleaf

In aus.computers.linux Sylvia Else <sylvia@not.at.this.address> wrote:


> telford@xenon.triode.net.au wrote:

>> It already happened in the US when that Russian guy wrote a reader
>> for Adobe e-books that translated into text suitable for a blind reader.

> Far as I can see, the case against the Russian has been dropped, and his 
> company was found not guilty. In any case, I cannot see its relevance here.

Yeah, DVD-Jon got out of jail too... eventually.

Not much fun sitting behind bars trying to prove you are innocent.
Some people might be discouraged by this prospect even when they
know there is a reasonable chance of getting released at some stage.
There are people who find long interrogation sessions a bit disturbing.

The relevance is that e-books is a proprietary format and Adobe
believe they have the right to decide who can and who cannot read
their format. The right to be compatible with proprietary formats
is one thing we are fighting for.

> The defense of honest and reasonable belief does not require that the 
> belief be correct, only that it be honest and reasonable. The belief 
> that Linux does not infringe SCO's copyright can be reasonably held 
> until SCO produces concrete evidence of an infringement (and they seem 
> to be having some considerable difficulty doing that). The belief does 
> not become unreasonable merely because some company alledges that a 
> product is infringing.

How reliable is this interpretation? What exactly counts as "concrete
evidence" and how does a mere programmer get a trustworthy opinion
as to what evidence to believe? Sure you can go to a lawyer but most of
them don't know enough about the technical issues to produce a meaningful
answer -- most courts find it pretty damn difficult to sort such things
out. I've known people to have widely different ideas as to what is
"reasonable". Remember there are criminal penalties for getting this
wrong: going to jail, having a criminal record, not being able to get a
job -- the sort of stuff people take seriously.

	- Tel