> Ban on Reverse Engineering: Section 2.6 prohibits any reverse engineering (including the kinds of reverse engineering for interoperability that courts have recognized as a fair use under copyright law), as well as anything that would "enable others" to reverse engineer, the software development kit (SDK) or iPhone OS.
Wow. EFF should sue Apple over that alone. Private companies aren't supposed to "contract-out" your rights. This will be an easy win for EFF.
The case would be thrown out because the provision says nothing of the kind, and in fact, this statement here by the EFF is defamation and when Apple countersued they'd win.
Apple doesn't respond to critics like this, so the EFF knows it can get away with these kinds of lies.
It's just unfortunate that you and others believe them, and those who point them out are silenced here on HN.
You may not and You agree not to, or to enable others to, copy (except as expressly permitted under this Agreement), decompile, reverse engineer, disassemble, attempt to derive the source code of, modify, decrypt, or create derivative works of the Apple Software or any services provided by the Apple Software or otherwise provided hereunder, or any part thereof (except as and only to the extent any foregoing restriction is prohibited by applicable law or to the extent as may be permitted by licensing terms governing use of open-sourced components or sample code included with the Apple Software).
EFF is definitely oversimplifying and spinning a little, but that's certainly a restriction on reverse engineering "of the kind" that they describe in their post. Spin or not, it's hardly a baldfaced "lie."
(That said, you're right to respond that EFF couldn't sue over that provision - people contract away their rights to do things they otherwise could all the time.)
I do not think the EFF can (or would) sue them over the developer agreement in the manner described by the grandparent post. I found that statement hyperbolic, though I do wish that people would stop writing overly burdensome contracts full of CYA provisions.
That aside, your statements about defamation are just as bogus. Opinions regarding specific, disclosed facts are protected. There's something called the Milkovich standard, which you can read more about here:
Given that the Apple developer agreement is public and the article I read makes that agreement the sole basis of its opinion without implying that they know more than they've told us, your statements about it being "defamation" are not accurate. They cited specific provisions in the agreement which they disagree with as the basis of their opinion and the article was explicit about this.
You're entitled to that as an opinion, of course. It's an incorrect opinion that mischaracterizes the defamation laws the EFF is subject to here, but you're entitled to hold if you wish.
This is why nobody should trust any legal discussion they found online (including mine) and instead hire a lawyer who can give them competent legal advice (and who has legal malpractice insurance in the event their advice is less than competent) when dealing with anything more than academic pursuits.
>> Ban on Reverse Engineering: Section 2.6 prohibits any reverse engineering (including the kinds of reverse engineering for interoperability that courts have recognized as a fair use under copyright law), as well as anything that would "enable others" to reverse engineer, the software development kit (SDK) or iPhone OS.
> Wow. EFF should sue Apple over that alone. Private companies aren't supposed to "contract-out" your rights. This will be an easy win for EFF.
I would agree that apple is going way over the line, but the issue of 'contracting out' your rights isn't so cut and dry. I'd be interested in reading more about which laws or cases may apply in this situation, but generally speaking its perfectly legal to voluntarily sacrifice previously existing rights as part of a contract.
Yes, which is why my last statement is true generally, but not universally. Just look at nearly any settlement agreement. Signing a contracting in which you surrender rights is a very common occurrence. (Ianal)
Wow. EFF should sue Apple over that alone. Private companies aren't supposed to "contract-out" your rights. This will be an easy win for EFF.