Guest רמי Posted August 31, 2008 Posted August 31, 2008 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 Posted August 31, 2008 Posted August 31, 2008 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 Posted August 31, 2008 Posted August 31, 2008 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) Posted September 1, 2008 Posted September 1, 2008 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. Posted September 1, 2008 Posted September 1, 2008 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) Posted September 1, 2008 Posted September 1, 2008 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. Posted September 1, 2008 Posted September 1, 2008 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) Posted September 2, 2008 Posted September 2, 2008 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. Posted September 2, 2008 Posted September 2, 2008 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
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