zaphod Posted August 6, 2020 Share Posted August 6, 2020 How's this for an idea - Control4 should require all driver developers to do Source Code Escrow. This is a consumer friendly option to protect against the disappearance of a driver developer. Is there any downside to this, other than the cost of depositing storing the code? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neo1738 Posted August 6, 2020 Share Posted August 6, 2020 Well then if a dev goes away they are responsible for a driver they didn't create. Additionally, depending on country that code could still be protected information and C4 would have to verify patents, copyrights, etc to know when they could release it. Just bc a developer stops supporting code doesn't mean it's free game. That lastly being said C4 could require the devs to agree to this but again at what gain? They have made the drivers or partnered to make the drivers they fell necessary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msgreenf Posted August 7, 2020 Share Posted August 7, 2020 Yeah, no. Paying like $100 for a license doesn't mean you get lifetime access to IP if I stop selling it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pounce Posted August 7, 2020 Share Posted August 7, 2020 Don't worry. Drivers can be decrypted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RyanE Posted August 7, 2020 Share Posted August 7, 2020 14 hours ago, Pounce said: Don't worry. Drivers can be decrypted. Obviously, Control4 has to decrypt drivers to run them on the system. Outside of Control4, you would have to have Control4's driver encryption private key, which is unlikely. Whether Control4 can decrypt drivers or not is irrelevant to whether Control4 could do anything with the source of the driver, which could be obfuscated to the point of not being able to modify it, and even if not, is likely a legal minefield. RyanE Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin L Posted August 8, 2020 Share Posted August 8, 2020 no RyanE 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pounce Posted August 8, 2020 Share Posted August 8, 2020 9 hours ago, RyanE said: Obviously, Control4 has to decrypt drivers to run them on the system. Outside of Control4, you would have to have Control4's driver encryption private key, which is unlikely. Whether Control4 can decrypt drivers or not is irrelevant to whether Control4 could do anything with the source of the driver, which could be obfuscated to the point of not being able to modify it, and even if not, is likely a legal minefield. RyanE In a desperate situation where something like escrow would even come up and where a community was impacted the source would likely appear. I'm just stating the obvious. I'm not trying to debate or suggest C4 or any dealer has any responsibility. I'm also not debating any legal aspect of this. Its a technical comment. Code escrow is the wrong tool for this situation. It would cost more to implement than any revenue could reasonably cover. jfh 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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