[TUHS] Re: Re-implementations/Clean-Rooms et al.

[Clem Cole <clemc@ccc.com>]

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On Thu, Sep 8, 2022 at 6:16 PM Larry McVoy <lm@mcvoy.com> wrote:

> > It was rewritten over time,
> > which replaced AT&T's implementation.  Which is all that was ever
> claimed.
>
> And it's a false claim.
>
I believe you.  But BSD's rewrite was good enough.  The real key is the
BSDi/UCB *vs.* USL/AT&T case was *not about the code (or copyrights).* That
is the piece most hackers don't seem to understand. The case was about *trade
secrets (or not) *and thus the *ideas*.  BSDi/UCB released their system
which clearly had started with code that had originated with AT&T and thus
the *ideas* had to have originated there too.

I think too many hackers get caught up in FOSS, GPL,* et al,* and miss the
point.

The real debt which we can never repay Doug, Ken, Dennis, and friends was
their *ideas* and the way they broke down and solved problems.   The code
is a by-product, the existence proof that it was more than theory, but had
a practical use.
ᐧ

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