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Re: releasing java for macintosh

> 1) there are several sites to submit software (the mac os x downloads,
> download.com, jars.com etc...). any recomendations? are there any precautions
> i should be aware of?

For maximum visibility with Macintosh users, see
<http://www.versiontracker.com>. Look at how software is listed, with links
to description, download, ratings, and user comments. It is arguably the
best software tracking site.

> 2) what kind of copyright protection/security should i use? this program is
> free of charge, but we still don't want someone else to take it, change it a
> bit and then sell it or anything! there are actually 2 issues here, what can i
> do to both legally and practically inhibit people from "breaking" the code? i
> honestly don't understand anything about legal issues with software except the
> few recommendations from friends.. i was recommended to look at copyleft at
> gnu, but i don't know if that is important... what is the general proceedure
> here? and as for practical, is there anything special i should do to protect
> the program from being changed? of course, i've had my fun using resedit on
> games, so i understand a little of what could happen.. :D

You could use a Java code obfuscator, such as Retroguard and others, which
will make it much harder for people to reverse engineer your product. This
is the practical part. The added advantage is that your jar would be much
smaller too, because symbols are compressed into much smaller ones as part
of the obfuscation process.

For the legal part, let me first mention that I am not a lawyer and that you
should seek advice from a patent lawyer, a copyright lawyer, and a trademark
lawyer. Mine are Blakely, Sokoloff, Taylor, & Zafman
(<http://www.bstz.com>). They happen to be Apple's too, by the way.

But apparently, you are doing it for mankind rather than your shareholders,
especially since it is educational freeware, so you might want to simply
look at what others have done. Download a few shareware products and look at
the about boxes and the Read Me files. No need to reinvent the wheel, and no
need to waste too much of your energy dealing with unlikely legal risks. For
instance, you could put a mention in the about box or somewhere that says
"(c)2001, Tight Software. All rights reserved." Also you could mention, in
the Read Me file, that the product package should always be distributed
unaltered, with the application, the Read Me file, and whatever else is
needed. You could also mention that you expressly forbid anyone from
distributing the program on CD-ROM, Web sites, or any other form without
your written consent.

Finally, unless you have invented something with no prior art, you should
not worry too much about people stealing your product, especially if it is
supposed to be freeware AND educational (not much money to be made there).
Of course, greed exists in at least two forms: money (as exemplified by
business) and recognition (as exemplified by academia). If, on the other
hand, your invention is new, then you might want to consider protecting it
by filing a provisional patent ASAP, then later file a nonprovisional patent
within a year. Of course, if you were familiar with the process already, you
might as well consider filing the nonprovisional right away. Filing a patent
does not mean that you want to litigate anyone into the next century,
although some people like to spend their life doing so.

JM

-- Jean-Michel Decombe (email@hidden)

References: 
 >releasing java for macintosh (From: "amos anderson" <email@hidden>)



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