>so back to the original question about problems with using the (obviously
>neither patented nor otherwise published) protocol between the picstart+
>and the driver software: when i apply your reasoning, it seems that there
>is no reason to expect legal troubles writing a driver software which uses
>the protocol to speak to the programmer, and neither a problem with writing
>a driver for using the picstart+ to program whatever other chip it was not
>originally designed for: because the protocol may or not be patentable, but
>in any case isn't patented, and copyright would be on the original code
>(both driver software and firmware), but not on the protocol itself.

correct.

Just don't disassemble code in order to figure out how it works.  Observe
the communications and work from tehre, just to be sure.

This is called "Clean Room" development.

Andy


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     \    |   |    /          Andy Kunz
      \   /---\   /           Montana Design
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