From: Jim Wise <jw250@columbia.edu>
Date: Sat, 4 Jan 1997 05:56:52 -0800 (PST)
To: Peter Hendrickson <ph@netcom.com>
Subject: Re: Naive Export Question
In-Reply-To: <v02140b00aef3aeff55fd@[192.0.2.1]>
Message-ID: <Pine.SUN.3.95L.970104085335.28613C-100000@namaste.cc.columbia.edu>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain


On Fri, 3 Jan 1997, Peter Hendrickson wrote:

> Given that:
> 1. It is legal to export books with printed source code.
> 2. It is legal for foreigners to type it in.
> 3. It is legal for foreigners to post what they typed.
> 4. It is legal to pay foreigners to type things into a computer.
> 
> It seems to me that it would be legal for the author of a book with
> source code to pay foreigners to type in the code and post it.  The
> cost of doing so is small compared to the cost of writing and
> publishing the book.

It would probably be chased down under the `financing foreign crypto'
bits...

> I assume that this is illegal, but which laws does it violate?

And here we have the heart of the regulations...  Only _actually_ close
what they're sure they can get away with, but make sure to make it
seem that the rules are logical and complete, so people will refrain
from exporting crypto legally or illegally for fear that they will
break the law without meaning too...

--
				Jim Wise
				jim@santafe.arch.columbia.edu
				http://www.arch.columbia.edu/~jim
				* Finger for PGP public key *