Re: [Gnash-dev] Does the latest Flash Player EULA still prevent people from coding for Gnash?

[Bastiaan Jacques]

On Mon, 9 Feb 2009, Robinson Tryon wrote:

> If the language about "creating similar software" has been removed
> from the license, does that mean that there is less of a barrier for
> people who have installed the Flash Player client to participate in
> Gnash development?

Yes. As a precaution, we didn't contributions from people from the US who
had installed the proprietary player as a precaution. It seems that we
may now remove that restriction. But there are questions to be answered
here too, for instance: for someone who had an older version
of the proprietary player installed, does the "no derivatives" clause
from the old EULA still apply even if they've upgraded to the new player?

> My understanding of laws concerning reverse engineering is limited.
> Could hacking on the Gnash codebase be somehow construed as a
> "derivative work" if you have the Flash Player installed? Could
> actions such as documenting what output the Flash Player gives based
> on certain inputs be judged to be (legally unprotected) reverse
> engineering?

It sounds like you're looking for a risk assessment, but you would
really need to talk to a lawyer for that. That said, in the US even the
threat of a lawsuit is enough to ruin a person or a project. So we are
(still) extra cautious with contributions from US residents.

Bastiaan