Here in Canada it's legal to download pirated mp3s. As long as you are not distributing copyrighted materials, you're probably fine.

Should have been a lawyer.  I stil can't grasp how Linux is blatant copy of Unix which is copyrighted yet is fully legal...; yet a 30 year piece of art on a playfield raises eyebrows at a local print shop...

Quoted from Tuborg

Should have been a lawyer.  I stil can't grasp how Linux is blatant copy of Unix which is copyrighted yet is fully legal...; yet a 30 year piece of art on a playfield raises eyebrows at a local print shop...

Linux was programmed from scratch, they didn't violate a single thing copyright wise. It just behaves a lot like unix (but not exactly). Just because it puts all the config files in /etc it does not mean it's violating copyright.

When a new CPU like AMD is out, it is legal for INTEL to reverse engineer it to see how it works.  They simply can't copy it etc.. This way it makes way for better products in the future by sharing knowledge.  Copyright is a funny beast and you can't blanket an answer to everything because it may not apply all around.

You will be 100% by asking a legit question to a lawyer if you are really concerned but it will $$$$$.

take care

Quoted from gmaranda

When a new CPU like AMD is out, it is legal for INTEL to reverse engineer it to see how it works.  They simply can't copy it etc.. This way it makes way for better products in the future by sharing knowledge.  Copyright is a funny beast and you can't blanket an answer to everything because it may not apply all around.

You will be 100% by asking a legit question to a lawyer if you are really concerned but it will $$$$$.

take care

Chip design is not covered by copyright, it's covered by patents. Correct me if I'm wrong.

Copyright covers 'creative' works. Here in Canada (and everywhere outside good old US of A), computer code does not fall into this category. It's hard to imagine a chip being considered a creative work, it's completely utilitarian.