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Old 05-06-2006, 02:40
Fade
 
Posts: n/a
Legality of reverse engineering.

I am sure it has been asked before about if reverse engineering is legal or illegal, or if you only do it for personal use and not distribute information/source/binaries. So that is not what I am asking.

I am curious, inside the case of a game usually in the manual, you have information saying that you cannot attempt to reverse engineer the product at all, doing so is illegal etc. But this is usually in the game case, not on the case itself, and the cases are usually sealed. How are you supposed to know this information before you buy the game? Are you supposed to ask somebody in the shop? Should you contact the game company?

Because what they are saying is "By buying this game you are agreeing to...", which to me sounds like a contract stating that if you buy the game you will not reverse engineer it. But in order to see that contract you have to open the game and read the manual, yet by that time you have already bought the game. And if you decide you do not want to agree to the contract where do you stand as a customer? Can you ask for your money back because you do not agree to the terms and conditions? Or what if you ask for your money back and the refuse, does this give you the right to reverse engineer it?

If you were able to get a refund, who would you get it from the game company or the shop where you bought it? Would this come down to the laws of the country where the game is purchased?

Thanks for the information guys.
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