Abstract

Taking things apart to figure out how they work is great fun at any age. It can also be the first step in building a great new product. But reverse engineering software and systems can be a legal minefield that takes care and planning to traverse.

In this talk, Mitch Stoltz, Senior Staff Attorney with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, will discuss how to explore and modify hardware and software, and use the knowledge you gather, while avoiding common legal problems. He will also share stories about the latest efforts to preserve the freedom to tinker with everything from phones to cars to medical implants.
I’m a copyright lawyer at EFF, once a software engineer and security specialist at Netscape/AOL/Mozilla. I’ve done some corporate litigation too, mostly for consumer technology companies.

Bio

Mitch is passionate about free speech, coders’ rights, and letting innovation thrive wherever it grows.