Free Non-Commercial Programming Software?

[rfradioconsult]

Over the years several folks have taken on Motorola's legal team only to come up on the losing end. By aggresively protecting their IP rights they can continue to sell their software products at prices they want to charge.

 

[zz0468]

Look up "SprogII" . It's another Syntor and MCX100 programmer that is out there. So, based on what Piexx and the author of SproggII have done, it IS possible to write 3rd party programming software. It's either not been done much, or it's kept under wraps to avoid the rath of Motorola. In either case, what's out there is for products LONZG out of production, and on the verge of regulatory obsolescence, so it's doubtful Motorola cares one way or the other.

 

[kb0nly]

Look up "SprogII" . It's another Syntor and MCX100 programmer that is out there. So, based on what Piexx and the author of SproggII have done, it IS possible to write 3rd party programming software. It's either not been done much, or it's kept under wraps to avoid the rath of Motorola. In either case, what's out there is for products LONZG out of production, and on the verge of regulatory obsolescence, so it's doubtful Motorola cares one way or the other.

The difference here is they merely took the codeplug from the radios EEprom and edited it to write back to the chip to figure out the order of the info contained, they didn't reverse engineer any software. I have reprogrammed the old Syntor's and Syntor X's with nothing more than a Eprom burner and a Hex Editor, its not encrypted and the frequency is entered without knowing anything special. No radio interface, no motorola software, just hex editing.

Now these guys simplified that later on by writing a software package that generates the chip image to burn the chip in your burner. But since no motorola software was used in its development i think this would be handled much differently. It would be different also if for example the info contained in the EEprom is encrypted and they reverse engineered it to decrypt that info, but it's not.

I also agree though that the Syntor and Syntor X are so old that i doubt they would see this as a competition against them, all they want to do is sell new radios anyway.

 

[N4KVE]

Over the years several folks have taken on Motorola's legal team only to come up on the losing end. By aggresively protecting their IP rights they can continue to sell their software products at prices they want to charge.

Of course "M" has tons of money to pay for legal representation, but it would be nice if some kind of arrangement could be made for people who wish to program older radios which "M" doesn't sell software for anymore. Think of all the wideband only radios which will be thrown in the dumpster next year which could have a second life on Amateur freq's. I hear the local Micky Dee's will be giving them away for free with Happy Meals. GARY N4KVE

 

[scottbailey]

I do believe that Motorola's software license agreement (which every buyer has to sign) specifically prohibits reverse engineering, etc., etc. etc.

That says to me that *if* someone were to do it, Mother Motorola would have a good case against them, no matter how they obtained the CPS.

If they pirated the CPS, Motorola has a clear path to a civil suit and criminal action as well.

If they reverse engineer a legit copy, they still have 'em by the short hairs.

While there might not be a specific violation of law for reverse engineering a legit copy of the CPS, it would still be a no-no by rules under which it was purchased.

No where else can you find a software publisher that has instilled the fear of God regarding software piracy like Motorola has. I will never understand it. Throw some legal weight around, make examples of a few people (most of which were doing duh-stupid things like selling parts based radios with illegitimate firmware), and then bring in the marketing guys...Oh yeah, and don't forget to tell everyone that we OWN EVERYTHING. They should be offering anti-piracy consulting services to the movie studios...but I digress.

So assuming that M's license agreement were to legally prevent the signatory from reverse engineering...you're missing a HUGE point! When my child was born, I somehow don't remember them stamping her footprint on a Motorola license agreement. I also didn't have to sign one when I just bought that surplus HT1000 on eBay. So (assuming for just a moment that reverse engineering for this purpose is lawful) what if the developer never signed a license agreement? What if they used interface specs that were published by someone else? What if either the developer or the reverse engineering was done by someone that wasn't located in the US or another jurisdiction that adheres to our western ideas of intellectual property protection (think China).

But more importantly I think the point that Peter was making is that there are things beyond the license agreement that come into play - and sometimes even despite language that is in an agreement. Much of the Motorola licensing FUD has been around for years, and there have been more recent changes in IP law.

First off is the First Sale Doctrine. This essentially says - and I'm greatly summarizing here - that once an item is sold (yes, even specifically copyrighted work), the rights holder can not prevent or control resale. As this relates to software, and in particular the question of whether it is leased (licensed) or purchased is a matter that even the courts disagree on (and controlling precedent may actually differ depending on which part of the country you are in). It absolutely applies to the hardware.

Here is a clear case in point - look at iPhones and jailbreaking. Apple is stauntly against users hacking their phones to get root access ("Jailbreaking"), which end users desire since it is needed to load software not published and/or approved by Apple. Guess what, despite Apple's wishes - and license agreement - it was declared legal to jailbreak an iPhone. See U.S. Declares iPhone Jailbreaking Legal, Over Apple

Anyways my point is that I agree with Peter - I don't see any reason why a 3rd party software developer would be legally unable to create and publish software that INTERFACES with Motorola or other radios to program configuration data, assuming that there is no encryption involved.

Section 1201(f) (U.S. Copyright Office - Copyright Law: Chapter 12) certainly seems to cover reverse engineering for this exact purpose:
(f) Reverse Engineering. — (1) Notwithstanding...a person who has lawfully obtained...a computer program may circumvent a technological measure that effectively controls access to a particular portion of that program for the sole purpose of identifying and analyzing those elements of the program that are necessary to achieve interoperability of an independently created computer program with other programs...

Antitrust laws also come into play here as issues arise if you take actions specifically to prevent competitors from interfacing with your product - just ask Microsoft. If someone anonymous in China were to do this and publish said protocol, I think the reverse engineering becomes a moot point.

Motorola may own the IP to the firmware and programming software - but you as the end user owns the hardware. They can not control or prevent you from INTERFACING 3rd party software with your hardware for legitimate purposes (such as programming configuration to a radio), even when it talks to their firmware. If a company were to try to force this upon end users via a license agreement, that is possibly a violation of the Clayton Act (antitrust).

I'm not a lawyer either, but as you can see I like to play one on the Internet too - but at least I'm citing a couple examples and discussing IP law rather than just repeating the age old Motorola FUD that they own everything and only by the graces of their all encompassing license agreement are you even allowed to recharge the battery. I am a software developer business owner. Unfortunately, IP issues are as relevant to me as the vehicle code is to a commercial driver.

 

[N4KVE]

What happens if a 2 way shop goes chapter 11, & a judge signs a paper that all assets be sold to satisfy the debt to lenders. Some assets are software discs which can be sold to generate cash. Does anyone think the judge cares about intellectual property rights? Someone legally buys these discs at auction, & gets a receipt from the sale. Would the purchase of these discs be considered illegal? GARY N4KVE

 

[bezking]

That's quite far enough.