-----Forwarded Message-----

From: Dr Tarique Sani <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Cc: Bytesforall_Readers <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Re: [LIG] Re: [bytesforall_readers] Microsoft to share Windows code with India
Date: 15 Dec 2002 09:10:53 +0530

On Fri, 13 Dec 2002, Frederick Noronha wrote:

> Is this another way of saying
> that India was out in
> the cold till all this time?

M$ sharing is in fact more dangerous than it appears to be - read the
following 

Cut and Pasted from BLUG non tech  mailing list

Tarique

==============================
Yes, subject to this:

http://www.microsoft.com/licensing/sharedsource/government.asp

Salient features:

*  Licensees may read and reference Windows source code but may not modify 
   it

*  Licensees may debug their internal applications that run on top of 
   Windows using Windows debugging tools to make calls into the Windows 
   source code.

*  The license term is one year.

*  Accessing the source code in an  eligible country, subject to United 
   States Government Export Restrictions

*  Demonstrate the existence of an internal IT environment with 
   policies and procedures to protect the confidentiality of the source 
   code

*  Sign the standard Master Source Code Agreement and License Form

*  In exchange for obtaining access to one of Microsoft's most valuable 
   assets, Microsoft requests that government customers respect our 
   intellectual property and treat that intellectual property 
   confidentially.

The last two are the killers.

The "Master Source Code Agreement and License Form" is in fact a 
Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) that will legally bind the licensee for the 
rest of time to Microsoft, because....

...the NDA binds the licensee not to reveal what he sees to anyone, or use 
any of the technology he sees.

This has a viral impact - supposing person X working for the Government 
sees the source code, and person Y in his department is in touch with 
anyone who is developing (or has developed) similar technology (or is 
exploring it), Microsoft can claim that this is breach of contract, and 
can contractually force person Y to abandon further contact or support of 
the third party.

For more information on this, please read:

http://www.opensource.org/advocacy/shared_source.php

"Shared Source" and "Open Source" have diagonally opposite objectives. 

Both are "viral" in nature, but the former (Shared Source) aims at 
restricting freedom and innovation, while the latter (Open Source) aims at 
fostering it.

===========================

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