"decompiled code" its hard to proof for DMCA.
No, situation was simple, i upload hacked skype binaries in repo for easy distribution. And this is no-no clear case for DMCA takedown. So, it happens.
If you violate their license and use what you learned to make a profit, you're commiting commercial copyright violation. Which is a criminal offense. I don't agree with the law on this matter, but I'd seriously consider getting a lawyer before offering illegal services online.
Also, why not just work on a free software replacement for Skype? That way people could use your code without being threatened by patent suits and other legal arsenal wielded by Microsoft.
I am not. Problem was in different case. I should not post patched skype binaries, needed for reverse engineering. And its okay, what i will be shotdown for use it.
You're currently asking for money to be able to do something which is illegal. I'd consider that "making a profit". You may not be selling it directly, but crowd funding is a type of sale.
"...An objective of this exception is to make it possible to connect all components of a computer system, including those of different manufacturers, so that they can work together."
And the US:
Sec. 103(f) of the DMCA (17 U.S.C. § 1201 (f)) says that a person who is in legal possession of a program, is permitted to reverse-engineer and circumvent its protection if this is necessary in order to achieve "interoperability" - a term broadly covering other devices and programs being able to interact with it, make use of it, and to use and transfer data to and from it, in useful ways. A limited exemption exists that allows the knowledge thus gained to be shared and used for interoperability purposes.
I am Efim Bushmanov skype reverse engineer with first publish of original work on reversing skype client at June of 2011. And i almost done work on create open source version of "Skype Network Compatible" client.
And now I need some help from community. Thats why i do donate call.
Feel free to ask question about current state and any tech question. But, i will be prefer, if possible, not disclosure much, for reason ms-skype dont ruin my work too early by do some changing protocol again.
But you feel free to ask some technical details or general question at all of how skype work.
This is a great idea, and I bet you could raise a lot more than 3000! Why not just put this on indiegogo or kickstarter or some other similar trusted platform instead of asking people to just paypal you money? I figure many people would feel much more comfortable that way, and you'd probably get a bunch of publicity from just being on the site.
I don't understand the point of the semi-secrecy. There's almost certainly hundreds of MS employees on this site which means you've lost that advantage already, and anyway you're going to have the same problem after you release the software.
Are there public code hosting (gitlab?) in other countries, where the dmca does not apply? maybe something in Europe, where reverse engineering might be less strict?
I'm going to echo the sentiment about PayPal: they are notorious for freezing accounts and never releasing funds. They've even done this to people trying to raise funds to help natural disaster victims.
It might help to have multiple popular avenues for donation.
Wow, you got an actual person on the phone? You got further than me when I tried to get back the $200 they stole from me due to "suspicious activity". I gave up trying to collect it after spending a bunch of time on it.
They did eventually return it, more than a year later, with no explanation. Just suddenly my account balance increased. No interest payments for the time it was stolen though.
