[asterisk-biz] Protect Source Code based software

[Don Kelly]

>On Fri, 4 Dec 2009, Mitul Limbani wrote:

>> Plus if you are intelligent enough you can plant some sort of logical 
>> bomb inside the software which shall start corrupting the data unless 
>> otherwise it has gone through your nose.

>Steve Edwards
>Sent: Friday, December 04, 2009 11:12 AM:

>Stopping execution would be bad. Destroying data could be criminal.

It may not require destroying data to be criminal.

Several years ago, a client of mine was criminally prosecuted under a
computer-hacking statute for modifying software that he had provided to a
client of his. His client had stopped paying license fees; the modification
would cause the software to become ineffective after, perhaps, 30 days.

The contract covering the software license did not specifically allow this
type of protection. My client's lawyer had approved my client's approach,
but the software was in use in another state and the advice proved
incorrect.

I was called to testify to a grand jury and testified that the modifications
would simply make the software unusable and would not affect the user's
data.

My client (individual) avoided jail, I believe through a deal involving his
corporation pleading guilty and paying a substantial fine.

  --Don