Change Windows Splash Screen - Legal?

[Guest רמי]

Hey,

 

My company developes an enterprise application for close companies.

As part of our product, we replace the winlogon shell from explorer to

our application main entry,

And the windows splash screen to our logo.

 

My question is - is it legal?

If not, is there a legal way of doing it - by asking permission from

Microsoft or adding a small icon of Microsoft in our logo as well?

 

Thanks alot

 

--sternr

[Guest Twayne]

Re: Change Windows Splash Screen - Legal?

 

> Hey,

>

> My company developes an enterprise application for close companies.

> As part of our product, we replace the winlogon shell from explorer to

> our application main entry,

> And the windows splash screen to our logo.

>

> My question is - is it legal?

> If not, is there a legal way of doing it - by asking permission from

> Microsoft or adding a small icon of Microsoft in our logo as well?

>

> Thanks alot

>

> --sternr

 

This group is not the company Microsoft; it's just a newsgroup on MS

servers. I'd go directly to MS web site to ask your question.

Since these are systems that are being distributed, I'd imagine there

are definitely some legal aspects to it. Why not just add an "enhanced"

area to the original MS screen? At least then it wouldn't hide the OS.

IMO, a machine that booted as you indicate, would make me suspicious

and I'd wonder what else had been bastardized in the OS and even whether

it was even actually Mircosoft's.

Or, add a suffixed splash screen; have two of them somehow.

 

My 2 ¢ and that might be all it's worth too.

 

Twayne

[Guest Bill Sharpe]

Re: Change Windows Splash Screen - Legal?

 

??? wrote:

> Hey,

>

> My company developes an enterprise application for close companies.

> As part of our product, we replace the winlogon shell from explorer to

> our application main entry,

> And the windows splash screen to our logo.

>

> My question is - is it legal?

> If not, is there a legal way of doing it - by asking permission from

> Microsoft or adding a small icon of Microsoft in our logo as well?

>

> Thanks alot

>

> --sternr

Aren't there any lawyers to ask at your company? It should be reasonably

easy for them to find out.

 

Bill

[Guest John John (MVP)]

Re: Change Windows Splash Screen - Legal?

 

רמי wrote:

> Hey,

>

> My company developes an enterprise application for close companies.

> As part of our product, we replace the winlogon shell from explorer to

> our application main entry,

 

That is perfectly legal, you can use whatever you want for your shell.

> And the windows splash screen to our logo.

 

Replacing the Windows XP splash screen violates the Microsoft EULA.

 

John

[Guest Alec S.]

Re: Change Windows Splash Screen - Legal?

 

John John (MVP) wrote (in news:uvCIzlDDJHA.3432@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl):

> > My company developes an enterprise application for close companies.

> > As part of our product, we replace the winlogon shell from explorer to

> > our application main entry,

>

> That is perfectly legal, you can use whatever you want for your shell.

>

> > And the windows splash screen to our logo.

>

> Replacing the Windows XP splash screen violates the Microsoft EULA.

 

Really? I know that you can replace the shell (LiteStep, etc.), but all those

bootscreen editors are illegal? I was recently wondering what ever happen to

them all; for a while they were hot stuff and everywhere, but now it’s hard to

find any. I figured it was just because it was too hard to keep updating the

apps to accomodate the kernel updates.

 

--

Alec S.

news/alec->synetech/cjb/net

[Guest John John (MVP)]

Re: Change Windows Splash Screen - Legal?

 

Alec S. wrote:

> John John (MVP) wrote (in news:uvCIzlDDJHA.3432@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl):

>

>

>>>My company developes an enterprise application for close companies.

>>>As part of our product, we replace the winlogon shell from explorer to

>>>our application main entry,

>>

>>That is perfectly legal, you can use whatever you want for your shell.

>>

>>

>>>And the windows splash screen to our logo.

>>

>>Replacing the Windows XP splash screen violates the Microsoft EULA.

>

>

> Really? I know that you can replace the shell (LiteStep, etc.), but all those

> bootscreen editors are illegal? I was recently wondering what ever happen to

> them all; for a while they were hot stuff and everywhere, but now it’s hard to

> find any. I figured it was just because it was too hard to keep updating the

> apps to accomodate the kernel updates.

 

I didn't say that those editors are illegal, I didn't even talk about

these tools. All I said is that repalacing the Windows XP Splach screen

violates the EULA. Cars that go 280 KM/hr are not illegal, but in

almost all jurisdictions driving at that speed is.

 

John

[Guest Alec S.]

Re: Change Windows Splash Screen - Legal?

 

John John (MVP) wrote (in news:%23S1s66HDJHA.4340@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl):

> Alec S. wrote:

> > > Replacing the Windows XP splash screen violates the Microsoft EULA.

> >

> > Really? I know that you can replace the shell (LiteStep, etc.), but all

> > those bootscreen editors are illegal?

>

> I didn't say that those editors are illegal, I didn't even talk about

> these tools. All I said is that repalacing the Windows XP Splach screen

> violates the EULA.

 

That’s what I meant—and technically you implied it. Using a bootscreen editor

violates the EULA? I can’t imagine the EUA specifically stating that altering

the bootscreen is not allowed; it must be implied because of another, related

disallowed action. Is it because modifying the bootscreen modifies the kernel

(file)? I can see that being disallowed… maybe.

 

--

Alec S.

news/alec->synetech/cjb/net

[Guest John John (MVP)]

Re: Change Windows Splash Screen - Legal?

 

Alec S. wrote:

> John John (MVP) wrote (in news:%23S1s66HDJHA.4340@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl):

>

>

>>Alec S. wrote:

>>

>>>>Replacing the Windows XP splash screen violates the Microsoft EULA.

>>>

>>>Really? I know that you can replace the shell (LiteStep, etc.), but all

>>>those bootscreen editors are illegal?

>>

>>I didn't say that those editors are illegal, I didn't even talk about

>>these tools. All I said is that repalacing the Windows XP Splach screen

>>violates the EULA.

>

>

> That’s what I meant—and technically you implied it. Using a bootscreen editor

> violates the EULA? I can’t imagine the EUA specifically stating that altering

> the bootscreen is not allowed; it must be implied because of another, related

> disallowed action. Is it because modifying the bootscreen modifies the kernel

> (file)? I can see that being disallowed… maybe.

 

Read the EULA, or read here:

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms932897.aspx As for the tools

they aren't illegal, they are simply useless if you intend on respecting

the EULA. End of story.

 

John

[Guest Alec S.]

Re: Change Windows Splash Screen - Legal?

 

John John (MVP) wrote (in news:%23lNJK%23IDJHA.232@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl):

> Alec S. wrote:

>

> > Using a bootscreen editor violates the EULA?

> As for the tools they aren't illegal, they are simply useless if you

> intend on respecting the EULA.

 

What about DMCA? Anyway, I didn’t ask if the tools are illegal, I asked if using

them violates the EULA. I guess it does.

 

> > I can’t imagine the EUA specifically stating that

> > altering the bootscreen is not allowed; it must be implied because of

> > another, related disallowed action. Is it because modifying the bootscreen

> > modifies the kernel (file)? I can see that being disallowed… maybe.

>

> Read the EULA, or read here:

> http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms932897.aspx

 

Well the link says “You cannot replace the Windows XP logo with a custom logo,

because doing so violates the Microsoft EULA.”, but I could not find any such

statement in the EULA. The closest thing I could find was the paragraph about

not disassembling or decompiling the Prouct, in which case what I said about the

bootscreen-kernel relationship must be correct. (Which begs the question why

Microsoft put the bootscreen in the kernel. Then again, uxthemes.dll, oh but

that must be a violation too then.) This line in the EULA is thus interesting:

“You may also need to reactivate the Product if you modify yourcomputer hardware

or alter the Product computer hardware or alter the Product.” I guess it means

that you cannot reverse-engineer Windows, but you can make random, undirected

modifications (since any non-random patches would require knowing what is being

patched, which would violate the EULA).

 

 

You know what? I’ve never run the XP EULA through EULAlyzer. I’ll do that now;

it should be interesting. :)

 

--

Alec S.

news/alec->synetech/cjb/net