PROMs and Copyrights...

[Greg Hermann]

>>
>>As far as copyright is concerned, my guess (IANAL etc.) is that
>>it is technically illegal to sell a chip containing modified GM
>>code - it would be a derivative work.  Just changing a few bytes
>>or tables isn't sufficient...

Somewhere in a memory bank is the number 10%--if you change that much, it's
considered yours. Can't remember where that came from, tho.
>
>But I've looked at an ADS chip for an '88 Z24 (P4) compared to the ATZA OEM
>chip and they really did not change a whole lot of stuff yet they sell
>(sold?) the thing for quite a tidy sum. Apparently, GM saw no reason to
>intercede...
>
>>However, GM would be hard pressed to prove any actual damages.  After all,
>>you need their hardware to run the code!

BINGO! No damages=No money=No lawyers! And yes, that summarizes my opinion
of MOST lawyers. Our British colleagues have their collective character
pretty well nailed what with calling a bunch of them "Solicitors"!!!

Plus--if you wanna talk about the ultimate case of theft of intellectual
property, and how far it got in court, take a look at Apple v. Macrosquish
over Windoze. And this is one where the court or jurors could actually
understand what they were looking at--not a bunch of 1's and 0's!!
>>>
>>Now if someone was to sell their own hardware with GM code, I
>>would expect GM to stop them.
>>
>
>Looking at traditional GM code, I'd say that for that hardware to work with
>GM PROMs, it'd have to be designed pretty-much trace-for-trace the same as
>the GM ECM since the code is so deeply integrated with the hardware, which
>certainly would be grounds for an "Ahem...what do you think you're doing?"
>letter.

A bunch of folks tried a similar approach with proprietary hardware, code,
communications protocols, etc. in the digital building controls industry.
There was some outright robbery going on in terms of parts, system
expansion, and service pricing once a building owner/property manager got
committed to one control hardware mfgr.

Through trade organizations (like BOMA) and with the help of design
professionals, who learned to write smarter specs, this general practice is
nearly whipped into submission at this time--open protocols, etc. are
becoming the norm very rapidly in the building controls industry.

What it is gonna take to straighten this $#% out in the auto industry is a
few big fleet buyers (hertz-Avis-Budget-Penske-etc.) getting collectively
smart and saying "ENOUGH OF THIS #$&*$#% !!!! We insist on open protocols,
etc.!! First one to do it is the one who will sell us all of our
vehicles!!"

OBDII is likely , in no small part, the direct result of these kinda folks
collectively lobbying in DC, and reaching a compromise with the GEEKS so as
to continue to foil the hot rodders!!
>
>
Regards, Greg