Refuting the claim that "your reverse-engineered cleanroom implementation used leaked source code" is really Catch 22. Because you're not supposed to look at the leaked code.
@niconiconi In the EU, it's legal to look at leaked code and write your own. No indirection needed. Or if you just don't care, as always.
Otherwise, yes.
Otherwise, yes.
@lynne@pars.ee In the US, it's also legal to look at legally-obtained proprietary code and write your own (non-derived) code without an explicit cleanroom, legal defense is possible but more difficult. If I recall correctly, it was how NEC defended itself for using Intel microcode... Not applicable to leaked code, though.
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I totally forgot about the Intel vs NEC thing... Thanks.
@niconiconi @lynne
Link for those interested
https://digitalcommons.law.scu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=&httpsredir=1&article=1030&context=chtlj
Somewhat related, 36 years later- NEC touts working with Intel on stuff.
https://www.nec.com/en/press/202302/global_20230221_02.html