Reverse engineering software should be allowed, says Trade & Industry Dept.

[Bern]

and there is a reason for that. Companies spends millions of rands and years of manpower in developing and growing and maintaining their software. That is why you need to contact them get permission and pay the required fees to build your own API if they give you permission.

supporting this move is supporting piracy. Nothing more nothing less.

And if they will not build the API because it is not part of their current strategy? So you are paying all the license fees and they will not build something to allow their software to do what it is supposed to do?

 

[nand]

I'm somewhat against the reverse engineering of software and protocols, explicitly propriety ones. If something was meant to be used by the general public, it would either be open-source or have some form of an RFC if it's meant to be implemented.

Although, I'm for reverse engineering for educational and security research purposes.

 

[FirewallSA]

One question, which spreadsheet software was first? QuadroPro, Lotus 123, Excel, Open Office Spreadsheet.
Did each company write their own code from scratch or did some reverse engineer their competition’s products?

I for one would not mind reverse engineering as long as no one can profit from others hard work.

I do think that this could be beneficial where software was not written for the South African Economic Environment.
You may have a great piece of software but it is only for example denominated in dollar or does not make provision for our tax laws.