>But to my true and honest knowledge, it would be illegal for U.S. citizens or corporations to receive his work and use it in their VFP9 versions. And that's what my inquiry to Microsoft was about (U.S. interests using Chen's work).


Rick, I've been following enough of this thread to say that your conclusions ("it would be illegal for U.S. citizens or corporates to receive his work and use it") are becoming weaker by the day.

In the very beginning I thought you *might* have had a point - though not necessarily a strong or compelling one. But sometimes people need a reality check: the odds of this advancing beyond forum chit-chat are extremely remote.

If that's how you want to spend your time and efforts, that's up to you. But at the end of the day there's a legal context for "standing" and "damages", and I don't think you've advanced any proof that the "worst-case" really has any deleterious effects.