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by brisance 2900 days ago
IANAL but here are a few things to consider.

Every person has a duty of care to minimize the possibility of harm to others. In some professions the standard is higher and may be codified into statute and/or bylaws of their professional association e.g. medical and legal professions. What this means is that, for example, in certain jurisdictions a doctor is bound by his Hippocratic oath and has to render medical assistance to a person who is in urgent need of it, as quickly as practicable. Ignoring this exposes him to liability. So in the particular case of software, a malware author could in theory be found liable by posting his proof of concept in the public domain.

Secondly, in certain jurisdictions, there is an implied warranty of merchantability and also of fitness for a particular purpose. In the US this is under the Uniform Commercial Code.
1 comments
mbreese 2900 days ago
Most (all?) open source licenses have a clause disclaiming any implied warranty or fitness for a purpose.

The example you cite of a doctor being required to provide emergency medical care I don’t think is quite accurate. In fact, doctors are often not covered by “Good Samaritan” laws and can be held liable if they do stop to help someone and something goes wrong. A layperson would not have that type of legal exposure. Medical treatment issues are complex and I can’t see how they are related to open source software.

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brisance 2900 days ago
That’s the point I was making: it’s not so cut-and-dry as the parent assumed. Depending on the jurisdiction, some actions (or inaction, as the case may be) have consequences. And not all disclaimers are lawful, especially with regards to disclaimers of warranty.
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gonzo 2900 days ago
It’s not accurate at all.

In the U.S., a doctor has no affirmative duty to provide medical assistance to injured persons if they have not established a special relationship with the individual.

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brisance 2900 days ago
That’s why in my post I qualified that with “depending on your jurisdiction”.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duty_to_rescue

Read the last part about the elderly man who died in a bank and no one offered assistance.

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