Script code security and copyrighting

[Dinkledash]

Folks,

 

Will there be a security system for script code that's enforced by game elements, like having scripts be sealed classes (if that's possible) or will people be free to modify and copy the code of any gadget they purchase?  While stealing spaceships and all is something that could be tracked easily enough in-game by a law enforcement body (i.e. the ship is registered and has a serial number engraved on the hull in Kiberium) locking code held in scripts that have to have permission to run on the owner's computer might be problematic.  And easy enough to crack with Reflector anyway.

 

If there's no way to even make it difficult to open up the code, I don't think it would be possible to prove that someone has infringed copyright law.

 

I understand that code written in the game will be community property as part of the EULA, is that right?  So no actual real world legal issues could ensue.

 

Hmmm... are we being tricked into writing free software for robotics development?  

 

>run conspiracytheory.exe

 

[Jeronimo]

An other topic that NQ should learn for SL.

 

But, nowadays, open source software companies, and there are a lot. dont earn money from selling open source for free, but from selling services on how to use those those sources and how to modify them for your own needs.

 

i m personnally also very against this idea. there are too many intellectual properties engaged

[Lord_Void]

Folks,

 

Will there be a security system for script code that's enforced by game elements, like having scripts be sealed classes (if that's possible) or will people be free to modify and copy the code of any gadget they purchase?  While stealing spaceships and all is something that could be tracked easily enough in-game by a law enforcement body (i.e. the ship is registered and has a serial number engraved on the hull in Kiberium) locking code held in scripts that have to have permission to run on the owner's computer might be problematic.  And easy enough to crack with Reflector anyway.

 

If there's no way to even make it difficult to open up the code, I don't think it would be possible to prove that someone has infringed copyright law.

 

I understand that code written in the game will be community property as part of the EULA, is that right?  So no actual real world legal issues could ensue.

 

Hmmm... are we being tricked into writing free software for robotics development?  

 

>run conspiracytheory.exe

 

I believe they stated in an interview that all code in the game would be open source at first, but that they might implement ways to obfuscate it later on. While I, too, was a bit concerned about this, from what I have seen it seems the coding will be fairly rudimentary at first, and there will be plenty of people writing code that code stealing won't really have much of an effect. Later on, as they add more elements and more complicated things can be done with code, it will make sense to have ways to protect that code.

[mitharus]

I guess I don't see this as an issue for a couple reasons...

 

  1) I already write code that's released under a modified 3-clause BSD license.[1] So, as long as the copyright notice is kept in place, you can do with it as you will.

 

  2) Restricting what someone can do after the purchase an item from you limits their ability. Are they not supposed to be able to tweak it to suit their needs?

 

It would depend on how the blueprint/object system is implemented, but if a history is kept on the items (which I don't know why there wouldn't be), a timeline could be proven. It may not *prove* copyright infringement with how the current API looks, but it would give a definitive timeline of what existed when.

 

Besides, everything so far looks functional, and there's probably only a few ways certain things can be written to accomplish a goal, so there's going to be lots of similarities between different peoples lua code. I, personally, would see it as a derivative work of NQ's anyway. Unless they go all out on the scripting ability, and not just allowing custom event code with the DPU.[2]

 

-M

 

[1] - To give a couple organizations a perpetual license to the code, spelled out in the license itself.

[2] - ?? Can't find the exact term right now, but I think this was it.