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Interesting delima for software providers: If your software is used by law enforcement, you may have to share your source code so that it can be verified how it works and that it was working properly. I could see this spilling over into other areas as well, such as software for medical care, etc.

What do you think? Do you think the case should have been thrown out because the software vendor refused to reveal the source code? If so, how can software vendors protect their investments and property?

arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/200...
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1 year, 1 month ago by Ryan G.

4 Replies

  • Paul H. Paul H. replied Aug 10, 2007
    i'll let ms go first ;-)
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    Seth B. Seth B. replied Aug 10, 2007
    It seems like an argument COULD be made that the effectiveness of any software that runs on Windows relies on the quality underlying OS.. And since you're looking at the OS, what about the BIOS and microprocessor code? Interesting article, thanks for sharing.
  • Aaron W. Aaron W. replied Aug 10, 2007
    I know this type of legality applies to all software built for the US government. I consulted for a small e-learning firm a few years ago. We built some training content for the US Department of Education and they informed us from the beginning that our software AND code would become part of the public domain.

    We were also susceptible to various code audits where they reviewed our ActionScript.
  • Jim C. Jim C. replied Aug 10, 2007
    Isn't this solved by Open Source?

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