Is CHDK redistribution legal? - General Help and Assistance on using CHDK stable releases - CHDK Forum
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Is CHDK redistribution legal?

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Offline meows

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Is CHDK redistribution legal?
« on: 07 / April / 2021, 14:31:40 »
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The topic of re-selling a used camera with CHDK on it came up in a discussion with a lawyer friend. He thinks distribution of CHDK could be problematic if it contains parts of Canon's firmware for which Canon holds the intellectual property right. Any insights?
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Offline reyalp

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Re: Is CHDK redistribution legal?
« Reply #1 on: 07 / April / 2021, 16:39:23 »
Quote from: meows on 07 / April / 2021, 14:31:40
The topic of re-selling a used camera with CHDK on it came up in a discussion with a lawyer friend. He thinks distribution of CHDK could be problematic if it contains parts of Canon's firmware for which Canon holds the intellectual property right. Any insights?
If you need a competent legal opinion about this, you should consult a lawyer who specializes in software IP in your jurisdiction.

However, just to be clear from a technical point of view, CHDK is not present on the camera unless it is powered on and CHDK is loaded from the SD card. When the camera is not powered on, CHDK is only present on the SD card. So there's no way the camera itself could be encumbered by any problems CHDK may have.

Distributing CHDK (on SD cards or otherwise, with a camera or not) may or may not raise legal concerns, but if you're selling a used camera, erasing any included cards would avoid distributing CHDK.
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Offline meows

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Re: Is CHDK redistribution legal?
« Reply #2 on: 08 / April / 2021, 02:31:21 »
Thank you for the reply. Indeed I read elsewhere that CHDK does not overwrite the camera firmware. I guess the only question then remains: does CHDK on the SD card contain Canon intellectual property such as firmware?
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Offline c_joerg

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Re: Is CHDK redistribution legal?
« Reply #3 on: 08 / April / 2021, 03:45:14 »
I would not sell the camera with an SD card with CHDK on it.
I did something similar once. I would enclose the SD as a gift and not make it part of the purchase contract.
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