Hmmm. Good points. The author of Chilton's, though, satisfied whatever legal requirements may have existed with the engine manufacturer before publishing the book. You probably could borrow the docs as long as you did not make a copy of it. Same thing with a library book -- you may copy a page or two [which in itself may or may not be legal], but for sure copying the whole book is illegal. Maybe attorney-to-be JVP will weigh in on this. < g >

>Just a thought...
>Suppose I purchased the lawn mower and I wanted to do an engine overhaul and I contacted the manufacturer and he said he would sell me a repair manual for X dollars. Instead of paying for his manual, I go to the library and take out a Chilton's repair manual for that exact manufacturer's engine, are we doing the same thing here? Could we compile a database of sdk's legally?
>This is a point since some of these sdk's cost thousands because they bundle them with tech support/classes/software/etc. But all along, I'd just want to get the dll programming specifications.
>
>Allen
>
>>>Hi,
>>>I was wondering if getting information that is included in a SDK (software developers kit) from someone who purchased a copy constituted piracy? Assuming I own a legal copy of the original software, but the software vendor (ie, symantec's winfax) charges developers for the info on the how-to's, is it still piracy to borrow this info from another source?
>>>
>>>If not, then are there any web sites (maybe here's a good place to add it) that developers can share these sdk's?
>>>
>>>Allen
>>>
>>>PS, I'm not specifically looking for the winfax sdk so no need to point me a specific thread about it. I was only using it as an example.
>>
>>Documentation on software use should be included with legally purchased software. However, additional docs on the code running behind the UI, and info on how to use the software beyond what was intended for the normal end-user is different.
>>
>>The safest position would be to read the licensing or copyright information on the SDK docs. If that is not available, contact the software company.
>>
>>However, if the product you bought was indeed the SDK, I liken the omission [i.e., selling separately] of the SDK documentation to that of selling a lawnmower and the blade separately.