Whats wrong with N2H2s software license?
N2H2’s software license unfairly prevents customers from conducting legitimate research on the blocking program. After customers have already paid for, downloaded, and begun to install the N2H2 program, a contract appears on their screens defining the terms under which the N2H2 is licensing its software. In order for installation to proceed, customers must click a button indicating that they accept those terms. There is no possibility of negotiation, and no allowance for returning the program if a customer doesn’t accept the license terms. The license is extremely restrictive, prohibiting any unauthorized copying or reverse engineering of the program, or use or disclosure of the block list, even for legitimate purposes. Ben’s proposed research, which requires all those things, is therefore prohibited, along with any other serious evaluation of the program’s accuracy. While current law protects the secret methods and technologies (“trade secrets”) used by businesses, reverse engineering
