Path: chuka.playstation.co.uk!chuka.playstation.co.uk!chuka.playstation.co.uk!not-for-mail From: Paul_Holman@Playstation.sony.com Newsgroups: scee.yaroze.freetalk.english Subject: Re: Net Yaroze User Agreement Date: 9 May 1998 08:27:43 +0100 Organization: Sony Computer Entertainment Europe - 119.SS5 Lines: 105 Sender: news@chuka.playstation.co.uk Message-ID: <6j10hf$5n31@emeka.playstation.co.uk> Reply-To: Paul_Holman@Playstation.sony.com NNTP-Posting-Host: emeka.playstation.co.uk via smtpd (for [194.203.13.2]) with SMTP; 9 May 1998 07:32:25 UT by camsg001.camb.scee.sony.co.uk (8.8.6/8.8.6) with SMTP id IAA23224 for ; Sat, 9 May 1998 08:32:06 +0100 (BST) From: Paul_Holman@Playstation.sony.com To: news@playstation.co.uk Content-Disposition: inline Elliott has pretty accurately summed up the views of SCEE - its your source code (so you can post your skills wherever), its our libraries and tools (so don't post them elsewhere, they're for your benefit!). The only big caveat in this are the GNU based compiler and associated components - these of course are covered by the GPL (which is on both the CD and the Websites). As a previous poster has already mentioned, the basic idea is to ensure that PlayStation technology is provided to all those that are signed up to use it - i.e. both Yaroze Members and Professional Developers. The sad thing (IMHO) has to see complete sets of Yaroze tools and libraries uploaded on various pirate sites - this if anything has made it difficult to (say) create the much requested CD of the site. Paul From: Elliott Lee James Chow wrote: [...] > I've read the terms and conditions here, very closely. > > But someone correct me if I'm wrong. > Any Development Tools, that is binaries and docs may not be > placed elsewhere. > Member's binaries compiled using the Dev Tools may not be > placed elsewhere. > However, in 5iii, it makes no reference to the location of > Member's PlayStation Format Source Code, so I presume that > we may place them elsewhere provided they make no reference > to any PSX call. > > This should be quite easy to overcome. > On our homepages, we can place a header file containing > a set of #define function macros, which members may download > and use in conjunction with code placed elsewhere. > By doing this, the functionality of the code can still be > quite clear, whilst not sacrificing the required security > of the Development Tools. [...] > Can anyone confirm that this is OK? > > In any case, if anyone really wanted to pirate Yaroze's Dev Tools, > they would have probably bought one anyway. Much simpler to > disassemble with the whole dev kit and docs, without having to > trudge through someone else's crap binary code. > > jc This conversation actually came up much earlier on the SCEA server, but that data is probably now gone since we had to remove old posts when we ran out of space. :( The basic idea is that Sony has proprietary info (not much unlike you'd have at your company if you work in the software industry) and that consists of anything that Sony has made. That boils down to the libraries and header files. When you compile your program, you probably won't have much proprietary code in there---it's probably yours. That is your work and your copyright, so you can can distribute the whole/part of that. However, once you link in the Yaroze libs, then the resulting binary has both your and Sony's work in it, and that means you can't distribute it. The safest way to go about it is that for anything you create: - If it's linked and ready to run, keep it on SCEE or SCEA in the provided authenticated directories or newsgroups. Don't give it to people on the public newsgroups or public mailing lists. Treat it as if it were your own company's intellectual property. - If you are providing full source code, then you can leave it almost any place you want (don't quote me!) provided that it is wholly your own work. This proprietary information distribution restriction may also apply to anything gerenated with the provided Yaroze tools such as AIFF2VAG, TIMUTIL, DXF2RSD, etc., though I haven't seen/heard official word on that yet. Considering this topic has come up more than once, maybe we should get a members-only FAQ written up by SCEA/SCEE/SCEI employees and post it on the web sites. - e! tenchi@netmagic.net http://www.netmagic.net/~tenchi/yaroze/