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vasanthz
Global Moderator
Joined: 28 Aug 2007
Posts: 1744
Location: Tirupur, India
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Hi,
This might be a noob question, but would like to get it clarified
When looking at a member say - SYS1.SERBCLS(ERBR3CPC)
There is a comment on the member saying,
| Code: |
/*01* PROPRIETARY-STATEMENT:
/* Licensed Materials - Property of IBM
/* "Restricted Materials of IBM"
/* Copyright IBM Corp. 1996, 2005
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It says Licensed and Restricted Materials, does this mean that I am not allowed to copy this member to my own and modify it?
Suppose if I modify it and use it at our shop and if it commerically saves us a bunch of money, then is it copyright infringement?
Regards,
Vasanth.S |
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steve-myers
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Joined: 30 Nov 2013
Posts: 917
Location: The Universe
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"Licesnsed materials" means you are using the product, which is the legal property of IBM under terms of a "license" which provides the terms of use of the product,
"Restricted materials" can mean almost anything, but it enforces the idea it cannot be used outside of the terms of the license.
You need a lawyer that knows intellectual property to get a better understanding of exactly what IBM means here.
"Modify" as you seem to be using the term, can mean quite a lot. For example I use the High Level Assembler. Part of the product is a set of cataloged procedures with JCL to run the product. You can fiddle with them as much as you want, though if you break them, IBM will not help. The meat of the product is the binary code. IBM does not want you modifying this at all. |
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vasanthz
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Joined: 28 Aug 2007
Posts: 1744
Location: Tirupur, India
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Thank you for your perspective,
By modifying I mean, copying the member to my PDS and then write an application based on it.
I feel that I am not infringing anything as of now, as it is does not provide commercial value to anyone else except our organization who is licensed.
Still was something interesting to know how these comments should be understood. Thanks
Regards,
Vasanth.S |
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steve-myers
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| vasanthz wrote: |
| ... By modifying I mean, copying the member to my PDS and then write an application based on it. ... |
The licence has specific terms about copying parts of the product. It's possible - though unlikely - that you have violated the terms of the licence. IMO, it's unlikely IBM will go after you if you have described what you did accurately even if you technically violated the terms of the licence. |
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vasanthz
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Joined: 28 Aug 2007
Posts: 1744
Location: Tirupur, India
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| Quote: |
| It's possible - though unlikely - that you have violated the terms of the licence. |
Hope I am not implicating myself unnecessarily :-)
Documentation says "ERBR3CPC provides samples to process the RMF Monitor III CPC report data"
So to write something based on it, I had to modify/copy the "sample"
Thanks again. |
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Robert Sample
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Joined: 06 Jun 2008
Posts: 8700
Location: Dubuque, Iowa, USA
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From www-03.ibm.com/software/sla/sladb.nsf/pdf/ipla/$file/ipla_en.pdf :
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3. License Grant
The Program is owned by IBM or an IBM supplier, and is copyrighted and licensed, not sold.
IBM grants Licensee a nonexclusive license to 1) use the Program up to the Authorized Use
specified in the PoE, 2) make and install copies to support such Authorized Use, and 3) make a
backup copy, all provided that
a. Licensee has lawfully obtained the Program and complies with the terms of this Agreement;
Z125-3301-14 1
b. the backup copy does not execute unless the backed-up Program cannot execute;
c. Licensee reproduces all copyright notices and other legends of ownership on each copy, or
partial copy, of the Program;
d. Licensee ensures that anyone who uses the Program (accessed either locally or remotely) 1)
does so only on Licensee’s behalf and 2) complies with the terms of this Agreement;
e. Licensee does not 1) use, copy, modify, or distribute the Program except as expressly
permitted in this Agreement; 2) reverse assemble, reverse compile, otherwise translate, or
reverse engineer the Program, except as expressly permitted by law without the possibility
of contractual waiver; 3) use any of the Program’s components, files, modules, audio-visual
content, or related licensed materials separately from that Program; or 4) sublicense, rent, or
lease the Program; and
f. if Licensee obtains this Program as a Supporting Program, Licensee uses this Program only
to support the Principal Program and subject to any limitations in the license to the Principal
Program, or, if Licensee obtains this Program as a Principal Program, Licensee uses all
Supporting Programs only to support this Program, and subject to any limitations in this
Agreement. For purposes of this Item ″f,″ a ″Supporting Program″ is a Program that is part
of another IBM Program (″Principal Program″) and identified as a Supporting Program in
the Principal Program’s LI. (To obtain a separate license to a Supporting Program without
these restrictions, Licensee should contact the party from whom Licensee obtained the
Supporting Program.)
This license applies to each copy of the Program that Licensee makes. |
As long as you (and your company) are not trying to make money from your changes, I think there's no issue. IBM provides source code (in SAMPLIB for example) and modification is expected for such code; there would be no license violation for such use. |
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vasanthz
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Joined: 28 Aug 2007
Posts: 1744
Location: Tirupur, India
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Thanks for the information Robert, I am able to understand it partly.
Glad at least I didn't do law. That whole quote is so hard to understand with so many compound sentences. |
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Robert Sample
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Posts: 8700
Location: Dubuque, Iowa, USA
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| Lawyers use a whole different English than the rest of us! |
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Nic Clouston
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Posts: 2454
Location: Hampshire, UK
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| shark-talk! |
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expat
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Joined: 14 Mar 2007
Posts: 8796
Location: Welsh Wales
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| Robert Sample wrote: |
| Lawyers use a whole different English than the rest of us! |
 I'll tell my daughter that |
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Pete Wilson
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Joined: 31 Dec 2009
Posts: 590
Location: London
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| Restricted materials seem to apply to manuals that relate to options such as applying patches etc or supply more in depth information on internal record layouts and suchlike. Also you can't download them unless you can quote your company ID so they can verify you're licenced for the product. |
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