Licencing of the proposed Win32ASM package

It would be common knowledge by now that Paul Brennick made direct
contact with the Microsoft Corporation and has received permission to
distribute the Microsoft assembler ML.EXE Version 6.15 within the
context of developing an assembler language IDE in conjunction with
Ramon Sala. Paul used the existing agreement that allows the MASM32
project to distribute a number of Microsoft binaries under the
conditions of a Microsoft EULA for those binaries as a model for his
request and his request has been granted.

While an earlier topic announcing the package has drawn a lot of
criticism pointed at the announcer for the hypocritical approach he has
used in trying to raise licencing issues about the distribution of
Microsoft binaries while trying to do the same thing himself, I will
make the point that none of this criticism should be pointed at Paul
Brennick as Paul has never conducted himself in this manner and for any
who are concerned with the criticism, I can personally vouch for Paul
Brennick as a person of integrity and when he has said that he has
negotiated with the Microsoft Corporation and received permission to
distribute ML.EXE, you can trust what he has said.

Paul has been very clear in both the context that he wishes to
distribute ML.EXE and the target market that he is addressing with the
project. The context is the IDE developed by Ramon Sala called "Easy
Code" and the target market in Paul's own words are "beginners at
Assembly".

This is a market that the MASM32 project has never addressed as it has
always been pointed at experienced programmers who already know how to
use compilers and have at least some background in assembler
programming. It has never been supplied with an IDE and it is designed
as neutral as possible so that experienced programmers can set up their
own editor/IDE and the build environment that suits their purpose. They
are of course welcome to use my editor as it is set up and works but it
will generally be too austere for many.

The MASM32 Project is designed so that experienced programmers can use
their own version of ML and any other binaries that they may wish to
use instead of the original ones supplied with the Project. In
particular the latest binaries from the VC2005 development environment
from either the commercial release version or the Express edition.

With Ramon's IDE and Paul's right of distribution there is the
potential to produce a package that is complete that a beginner can
just download and install without having to get anything else and if it
is done properly, it should end up as a very successful project that
addresses a demand that is not being properly met by any other package
at the moment.

This will also function as a vehicle for other programmers who have
expertise in specialised areas and here among other I have Vortex
(Erol) in mind because of his excellent range of tools and his
expertise with Pelle's tools.

Now where there will be problems is in deviation from the context of
permission that Paul has received from Microsoft. The only person who
has permission to distribute the ML version that Paul is allowed to
distribute is Paul in a project of the type that is contained in his
letter. Any attempt to distribute ML within a collection of other tools
without the IDE to make it a complete working package is not contained
within the permission that Paul has and it leave Paul directly
vulnerable as a consequence of such actions.

To further complicate the issue, the proposed package is supposed to be
a component in a larger system that will support other assemblers under
different and incompatible licence systems and be used among other
assemblers to produce a common library to be used among other
assemblers. This is clearly not contained in the permission that Paul
has and it leaves Paul vulnerable to violation of the agreement that he
has with Microsoft.

In this context, Keith should immediately cease and desist from trying
to supply ML.EXE 6.15 among a collection of other incompatibly licenced
tools or supply the package without Ramon Sala's Easy Code IDE.

I have posted Paul's letter of intent to Microsoft below so that
everyone who is interested in Paul's project can see what the rights of
usage are.

Regards,

hutch at movsd dot com

====================================================
Tuesday, July 05, 2005


Microsoft Corporation
ATTN: Licencing Department
One Microsoft Way
Redmond, WA 98052-6399

RE: Distributing ml.exe with our Assembler language IDE

To who it may concern;

Thank you for your valuable time. I am working with another individual
to
create an Assembler Language IDE, which is being delivered to any who
want it for no charge, ever. We originally were intending to use the
masm32
package put together by Steve Hutcheson in Australia. It contains
ml.exe
version 6.14 from Microsoft and a copy of Microsoft's EULA. He is
distributing the package, not redistributing the package. We have
decided to
do the same thing using the same spirit as allowed to him by Microsoft.
We
will use ml.exe version 6.15 and include Microsoft's EULA and our own
licencing will say that Microsoft's tools cannot be redistributed with
any
exes created using ml.exe. We are not going to use Microsoft's
link.exe.

As we only intend to deal with beginners at Assembly, we do not plan
to use any of the modern assemblers such as ml.exe versions 7 or 8 and
ml64.exe, we will stay with ml.exe, version 6.15 and teach the 32 bit
platform usage.

It is our desire to create an excellent product that Microsoft will be
proud to
be associated with. I am a retired/disabled professional and the other
individual is a Physics Professor.

We welcome any comments and//or replies from Microsoft and we thank
you for your excellent tools.

Sincerely,



Paul E. Brennick
====================================================

.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Licencing of the proposed Win32ASM package
    ... contact with the Microsoft Corporation and has received permission to ... distribute the Microsoft assembler ML.EXE Version 6.15 within the ... Paul used the existing agreement that allows the MASM32 ...
    (alt.lang.asm)
  • Re: Licencing of the proposed Win32ASM package
    ... Distributing ml.exe with our Assembler language IDE ... Paul subsequently identifies the author of the IDE, ... hobby OS and appears to have no experience with either Microsoft, ...
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  • Kind of new: function implementation questions, MASM
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  • Re: Troubles with LIB files on Dos-mode
    ... Copyright Microsoft Corp 1992-1998. ... And this is the 32-bit linker. ... Microsoft Macro Assembler Version 6.14.8444 ... cannot access label through segment registers ...
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  • Re: f0dders fabulous folly.
    ... You will have to stop bunging on the raw prawn, ... PROGRAMMERS worked for Microsoft and back then when the concept was ... > be the dominant assembler, ... MASM has this going for it apart from its licenced for FREE, ...
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