SWF Decompilers & intellectual property

Hi.
I just learn that there are exist many SWF decompilers that
can take a SWF file and create from it the FLA file, as it is
before compilation with Actionscript libraries and everything. Till
now, I was thinking that my intellectual property was hidden in the
compiled swf file that no-one could exploit for his benefit. Now I
learn that when I publish a .swf file, anyone can retrieve from it
the .FLA file and all actionscript / libraries that I have used to
create it,
even if I have lock my .fla file with password (using the
'protect from import' option).
The funny think is that some decompilers even create the
comments I have in the actionscript! (are those compiled too in the
.swf file???)... Also the decompilers produced my personal
libraries-code as is from the .swf file!!!...
I am curious... Aren't those SWF decompilers illegal, as they
provide the oportunity to anyone to re-use foreign intellectual
property for his own?... Shouldn't they be locked at least to
decompile only projects that with a password you verify them that
you are the owner of the .swf file, and not a code-thief?....
I have already tested a few "google-popular" swf-secure
software, and they CAN'T create playable .swf files in big projects
(as a full-flash complicated web-site).. Thus actually there is no
protection against swf decompilers and intellectual property
stealing...
Your opinion on the subject?....

There is no such thing as encrypted computation; it doesn't exist, nor will it ever. Any file on any platform in existance that contains "instructions" for a computer to read are exposed. It doesn't matter whether it's plain old source code or CPU op-codes... instructions are instructions.
Although it's more difficult for a human to make sense of a huge list of op-codes than it is to make sense of source code, the instructions are still there, plain as day, and they have to be so the computer can read them and run them. Decompilers just take a list of op-codes (or ActionScript Byte Code in this instance) and perform some pattern recognition on them to make sense of them, turning them into source code. They are not illegal (no program can be illegal; that would be moronic), because they are performing a create/interpretive act. It's like if you wrote "3.14159265..." in a file, and the decompiler is like "Oh, that's just PI". So all it's doing is taking a bunch of op-codes that you published on the public internet and it's recognizing that a particular pattern is equivalent to an "if" statement or a method call, etc., and then it's formatting it to ActionScript syntax or whatever language it chooses.
Intellectual property is a joke, and by hiding information and processes, all you do is set humanity back a step, and inadvertently shoot yourself in the foot by not allowing other to use what you've created and improve upon it so there is every better stuff for you to use and improve upon. This pretty much sums it up:
"The problem with the analogy (of some girl having her exercise video distributed online for free) is that you are making false assumptions concerning morality.
The first false assumption is that because you spent a lot of time or money on something you have to right to profit from it. Ergo, if someone else takes any action that cuts into your profit margin, said action constitutes "theft".
Secondly, you are assuming that someone can "own" an idea. Imagine what a hindrance on progress it would have been if Sir Isaac Newton could have acquired a copyright for his ideas (Calculus, among others) and charged royalties for anyone wanting to utilize them.
To put these two false assumptions into perspective, imagine that child A wants to earn some summer cash and comes up with a business plan to do so. He decides to invest some of his money (as well as time) learning magic tricks with the intentions of putting on neighborhood magic shows shows and charging a modest admittance fee, thereby earning a profit. After buying several books on magic tricks he becomes proficient enough to begin putting on magic shows, even coming up with several of his own unique tricks. After the first show he begins to recoup his initial investment. However, child B cleverly figures out how to perform all of child A's tricks (even the ones child A came up with himself). child B loves illusions and decides to put on a nearly-identical magic show of his own. However, child B is not motivated by the prospect of earning money and allows free admittance to his shows. This action puts child A out of business before he was even able to recoup his initial investment (to say nothing of his the time he spent).
Child B is not in the wrong for taking action that eliminated child A's prospects of earning a profit as no one has the "right" to earn profits in the first place. If you have an idea that is economically viable you might earn a profit, but you never have the right to earn a profit. Furthermore, Child B did not "steal" child A's tricks because no one can own an idea. By not telling anyone you can possibly keep an idea to yourself, but never can you own it. Did Daniel Bernoulli own Bernoulli's Principal? Did David Hughs own the radio? Did Einstein own the theory of relativity? Would we owe royalties to their families for building an airplane, or using wireless communication or nuclear energy? Certainly not. Such a system would absolutely stifle progress. Civilization, as we know it, is possible because of building off of the ideas of others. As such, theft can only apply to tangible objects and not to concepts or profits. The problem with stealing is not that someone gains something, but rather that someone loses something."

Similar Messages

Flash Intellectual Property Protection

Hi,
I wanted to find out how my intellectual property, such as graphic designs, photos, tweens designs, etc can be protected in a .swf flash file?.
This is because there are .swf file decompliers which can very easily convert my files into .fla and so access can be gained to my jpeg designs, photos, etc.
Is there a best practise which can be followed whereby some form of security measures can be taken within flash code, etc? And if so does anyone know what these measures are?
Also is there a way to then monitor and search for my design materials online such as through google?
Thanks
Dan

Once it's on the web - and mainly relies on your files to be download to the client/user machine, they've got your stuff ;-) They can take images and use them, take a SWF and decompile and harvest your code, etc. But, this has been stuff people hav ebeen able to do for decades...since the invention of the web, really, so it's not a new issue. Now, is it ethical to do so, is another issue.
I'm not up to date on how to prevent a SWF file from being decompiled (if there even is a 100% secure way)... But soembody would have to be really ambitious to go after YOUR product...and for what purpose? I think it's a good conversation, one that deserves some info,.
As for audio/video.images, this has a tried-n-true mechnism: copyright law. Search for it, learn about how the material/art you create is automatically copyrighted. But also learn that you can't take somebody to court for infringement unless you took further steps.
This issue, an kind of a fortunate way, has nothing to do with Flash - it's about code & content in general. That means there is a wealth of free info out there, you just have to search for it. Within an hour perooid of searching in Google, you'd be well versed and quite knowledgable. Go forth ;-)

OneNote and Corporate Intellectual Property Security - How?

I am trying to understand how OneNote can be used in a Corporate environment, and maintain some control over intellectual property. As I understand it, OneNote syncs to SkyDrive, which is a PERSONAL Live account. That means even if the IT Department
creates a SkyDrive account for that user, the user could then easily move corporate intellectual property to the account (which OneNote is designed to do and very adept at doing), and then change the password. The IT Department would have no way of knowing
what was uploaded, and the data could reside in someone's personal OneNote account for years.
If there was a way of setting up a corporate SkyDrive account in which the users were managed (password changes locked, and content could be reviewed), I think I would feel more comfortable with OneNote. Right now I don't see a way to do that, and
one Microsoft document says that is not possible.
If someone has a solution, please let me know.
Michael

The company does have policies for IP, but the threat with cloud servers is increasing the risk of moving large amounts of data offsite. If you put a program in front of an employee which invites cloud server use, you are inviting misuse of data.
The company would like to try out OneNote, but this product is obviously not designed for the Enterprise. I say that, because there is no easy way to disable web access in it. I want it off the menus. As someone else mentioned, "Out
of sight, out of mind." There are supposedly a couple of keys you can change which will turn off web integration, but I'll be darned if I can find them.
Here are the ones suggested.
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\Common\WebIntegration\WebIntegrationEnabled=0
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Office\Common\WebIntegration\WebIntegrationEnabled
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Office\14.0\OneNote\WebServiceProvider\DisableSkydriveSetupOnFirstBoot=1
People have also mentioned using the Group Policy Management Console, but the company has many remote offices, so there is no central domain controller.
Right now all I can do is block it at the firewall, which is not a great solution.
Michael

We're Hiring! - Intellectual Property Analyst

Please see the posting below. If you are interested in the position, please get in touch with us at janet at eclipse.org. Thanks!
Job Description
Description: Reporting to the Director of Intellectual Property, Legal Counsel and Secretary of the Foundation, the incumbent will be responsible for performing due diligence on inbound software contributions and maintaining well-documented records of the provenance of all source code in the Eclipse projects.
Duties:
This position requires managing multiple software reviews at any given time. These reviews will have both a "heads down" review component as well as a high level of interaction with software developers from both within and outside the Eclipse community. The review component will require focus and ananalytical and research perspective. In performing the research on any given package, it is likely that you will be interacting quite heavily in writing with software developers from around the globe.
Desired Skills & Experience:*
A) Required:
- Excellent time-management skills and multi-tasking ability; able to effectively manage competing priorities in a fast paced environment
- Strong interpersonal and communication skills;
- Client focused
- Strong attention to detail;
- Demonstrates sound judgment by taking appropriate actions;
- Dependable and responsible; willing to take initiative in the workplace;
- Team player
- Very comfortable with email, instant messenger, and more generally a computing environment.
- Strong keyboarding skills;
B) Preferred: *
- Demonstrable hands-on experience with copyright law and software licensing.
- Experience with open source licensing issues.
- Background in software development with knowledge of how software is built, managed and distributed.
- Experience with open source software development.
- Knowledge or a willingness to learn HTML
- Experience with process and project management
* We really need (A). While preference will be given to candidates with (B) skills, those who don't have those skills but a demonstrated inclination and ability to dig in and learn (with our help of course) will also be considered. If you think you fit that bill, we would love to hear from you.

This position has now been filled.

Creative: Defending intellectual property from their own stupidi

Creative was right in defending their intellectual property, the only one who can't see that are little kids.
Here's a question though, if you have to go defend your intellectual property from people adding what you said was supposed to be their originally, what does that do for you?
Not only that, but doesn't that make you legally liable as well?
If Vista is so hard to program for as alot have said, then how come some random dude can make software work in a matter of months while a group of developers can't in YEARS?!
Creative, your defending your illectual property from your own stupidity. You brought this on yourself.
Whats even sadder is how this is turning out.
I love Creative products. But this reminds me of the Commodore 64.
The makers of Commodore had made the awesome Commodore 64. Then they came out with the Amiga, far ahead of it's time. But it and the company died due to bad marketing.
It doesn't matter how good your product is, it matters how people like it
This day makes me sad. I'm not gonna take a piss on Creative like alot of the spammers are doing. But Creative has dug their own grave.
Message Edited by GodofDestructon on 04-0-2008 05:06 AM

Creative was right in defending their intellectual property, the only one who can't see that are little kids.
Here's a question though, if you have to go defend your intellectual property from people adding what you said was supposed to be their originally, what does that do for you?
Not only that, but doesn't that make you legally liable as well?
If Vista is so hard to program for as alot have said, then how come some random dude can make software work in a matter of months while a group of developers can't in YEARS?!
Creative, your defending your illectual property from your own stupidity. You brought this on yourself.
Whats even sadder is how this is turning out.
I love Creative products. But this reminds me of the Commodore 64.
The makers of Commodore had made the awesome Commodore 64. Then they came out with the Amiga, far ahead of it's time. But it and the company died due to bad marketing.
It doesn't matter how good your product is, it matters how people like it
This day makes me sad. I'm not gonna take a piss on Creative like alot of the spammers are doing. But Creative has dug their own grave.
Message Edited by GodofDestructon on 04-0-2008 05:06 AM

Protecting intellectual property

I was hoping to get some insight from all of you on how you protect your software from being stolen if you are using Java.
I know that .class files can be reverse engineered very easily. I know someone is bound to tell me that you can reverse engineer .exe files as well....but the difference in ability needed is not even comparable. When I looked at this concern a couple years ago the only thing we could do was use an obfuscator. The most widely used obfuscators have reverse obfuscators now. The other option now available are programs like Excelsior JET that will compile the code to an .exe. I know this renders the ability of Java to be "write once, use anywhere" useless...but I know the platform it will be used on.
My questions is pretty simple. I have a Swing stand-alone application that I would like to release, but I want to protect the code as best as I can. I know I am not the only person to have this question. So what do you guys use to protect your intellectual property? Is there something in Java I besides the two methods I mentioned above that will work to protect my code? Is there another alternative besides Excelsior JET?

You mention staying a step ahead of the crackers.
That was the crux of the question: How do you stay a
step ahead of the crackers?
I realize it is futile to try and stop reverse
engineering completely. However, leaving it as class
files takes absolutely no skill to reverse engineer
the files. I would atleast like to stop some people
from getting the source.I think a lot of it coes down to pragmatism.
What's your goal? Is it to make sure that not even one cracker can possibly ever get even one single illegal copy of your code? No, probably not. That's not a reasonable goal.
Is your goal to provide some reasonable level of protection against loss of revenue or theft of intellectual property? I assume it's something along those lines.
If a craker or two or ten uses your idea and claims it as their own, it sucks, but, oh well.
If they make a little money from it, it sucks, but oh well.
The world's not perfect. Accept it and move on.
If they make a bunch of money from it and/or get published somewhere with the claim that it's their own work, then it's worth some attention.
In this case, you use the law. If you've done the due diligence to document and maybe even register this as your work before releasing it, then you have solid legal grounds on which to argue, should it come to that.
But to back up a step, and throw that pragmatism in there again: There's a shitload of software available online. Honestly, what's the probability that yours is so good and so unique that you're going to find yourself in the above "worst case" situation? Note: I don't mean that in an insulting sense at all. just an attempt to inject a little reality.

Flex 4 protecting intellectual property

I am building kind of a cms which is a normal flex 4 project. Lets say I have 1 application and 2 modules: the website itself and the control panel. The website itself module will be presented to the end users as a template which they can modify. But the control panel module will be compiled in swf and then deleted from the project so no source will be available. The project will still load that module and use it as the system requires it.
So I have a few questions regarding this:
1) is it possible to hack the exported swf module and retreive the source files from it?
2) is it possible to protect it from that?
3) should i set licenses on every source code I have?
4) I use module for the control panel since there are less restrictions, but would setting the control panel in a separate application and load it as trusted or not trusted application work for me better in this case?
I would be very happy if someone with experience or adobe employee could take a few minutes to guide me a bit of what should I do. Thanks a lot in advance!

check out this post -
http://www.nitrolm.com/blog/2009/06/23/how-to-hack-an-air-app-swf/
It is always possible to "unofficially" decompile an swf file. I believe this company nitrolm also sells an swf obfuscation solution but i havent check it out yet.

How do I protect intellectual property in my PDF?

Situation: I have several (qty 50-100) PDF documents that get released to customers as part of their final product. I need to protect these documents, and prevent others from copying and/or uploading PDFs into CAD programs.
One way is to save it as a TIFF, then re-save it back to a PDF. This results in a rasterized (not vector) PDF, and makes it nearly impossible to upload into CAD. However, I need a way to do 50-100 at a time, and ideally to reduce this to a single step.
The other way, I am told, is to encrpyt and apply a security when saving. So far I have not been able to get this to work successfully, and again, I will have an issue with being able to do large qtys at once.
I am sure that other firms must have these same issues. I have not found a solution through the forums, Google, or Adobe.
Please Help!

Hi George,
I am not concerned about the text as much as the design. It is possible (though maybe not kosher) to take a vector-based PDF and copy it into a CAD program, therefore stealing our engineers' designs and effort. I don't know exactly how this is done, as I am not an engineer, but it is possible.
It is much harder, if not impossible, to do this when the PDFs are rasterized.
For example, create something in Illustrator, and save it as a PDF. You can open it back in Illustrator and change it, you can zoom in on the PDF and everything is very clear. Take that PDF and save it as a TIFF, then take that TIFF and save it back as a PDF.
The final file is pixelated if you zoom in, and you are unable to open it and change it as a vector. Does that make sense?
We want to present our cusotmer with PDF files as the final, and again, the large qty is a major issue.
Regarding your response, how do I apply security with a batch sequence? Will this achieve the result I am looking for?

Intellectual Property Management - Business Functions for SAP Customer Relationship Management - SAP Library

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You can also go back to the SAP help page.

Hi,
It is a CRM Addon: Desktop Connection for SAP CRM – SAP Help Portal Page
Best Regards,
Sigrid

How do I report stolen intellectual property being sold on the app store? (ie. someone stole my friend's code)

Someone has stolen my friend's app wholesale (code, graphics, even the name) and is now selling it on the iTunes store, along with the android store.
I also think the same 'developer' may have done this to other people and would like to flag it to apple as I don't think they would be happy if small developers are being ripped off like this.
My friend has full development notes, etc. The info he stored online was broken into one day, and registered with both the Android and Apple stores a few days later. Is there anything I can do about this?
Any help is very much appreciated!

Email:
<www.apple.com/itunes/go/itunesconnect/contactus>
iTunes Connect Support <[email protected]>
[email protected]
Contact [email protected] to investigate signup issues.
iPhone Developer Program/Review Team <[email protected]>
https://developer.apple.com/appstore/resources/approval/contact.html
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
Apple Developer Relations:
(800) 633 2152
(408) 974 4897
App Review Board:
https://developer.apple.com/appstore/resources/approval/contact.html
Developer Technical Support (\) Requests:
http://developer.apple.com/support/resources/technical-support.html
To request player scores be removed due to abuse or cheating, contact
<[email protected]>.

HTML5 - securing intellectual property

Hi,
Currently when I publish in Captivate project then the content and how we created it is hidden from view (unless someone decompiles it) .
With HTML5 my understanding is that everthing is in plain text and there is no way of doing DRM or hiding content.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_HTML5_and_Flash
Is this right ?
Is this really an issue ?
regards Renovator

Thank-you Rod.
So its a big worry then because we like to support widget developers and protect our own stuff and html5 makes this harder
On the other hand html5 means that it would be easier to debug some captivate issues
I found this discussion on stack exchange
http://gamedev.stackexchange.com/questions/32435/html5-game-obfuscation
The options were
- hide code on the server
- accept that things will get stolen and concentrate on making them better
- embrace open source
- use copyright notices
- obfuscate variables at the expense of making bug tracking harder
- use native code objects
- leave some code on the server- I know this means the user has to be connected
There is also some talk that google, ms etc may get together to do DRM

SWF file not playing in flash player

Hello All
I am working on this project for a client, suddenly no-one can get the SWF file to play.
https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0ByWDl-PaRWIFY0c1SnEwbUNraUE&usp=sharing
The file is there.
If anyone can help please do.
I know this file works. It must be an update or something?
Please Please Help

If you've lost the source to your SWF files, there are a number of SWF decompilers available. You may be able to decompile the SWF and then recompile the project using a current compiler. It's worth a shot anyway.
A cursory Google search turned up a few candidates (free and paid), but I don't have much experience with any of them.
http://www.sothink.com/product/flashdecompiler/
http://www.free-decompiler.com/flash/
http://www.swf-decompiler.org/
SWFWire - Flash developer tools
FWIW, I've never seen that blue screen and circle behavior before.

Location of variable and function names in SWF bytecode?

Ok, so I'm looking at the specification PDF for v10 of a SWF file.
Here is a link to it: http://www.adobe.com/devnet/swf/pdf/swf_file_format_spec_v10.pdf
I can't find anything in there about where or how a SWF stores variable and function names in the bytecode, though SWF decompilers can find them in any SWF file. So they must be in there somewhere.
Can any one help me on this one?

Hi check the varaibles by giving ur tech.name of report input parameter to the below program,
RSRQ_QUERYDEFINITION
it will all the query details. So you can find ur varaibles where it is used exactly.
bhaskar

Loading external swf and object error

Hello Forum,
I have two swf files, Flash CS3, action script 3.
One file can be considered to be the parent container, it
does have some objects on its stage.
The other file is a file that I would like to load into the
master file using the Loader object.
The file that I would like to load, works fine (or so it
seems) standalone. This file contains
a timer object, a loader object (which loads images from an
xml file), and XMLLoader feature,
and a button that I have created from a class that i have
created for a button. I can set the
label for the button from the swf like a property. This swf
is all Actionscript, using
addchild to get the various things on the stage.
I am using actionscript to load the objects on the stage in
the external file - as opposed to having
them on the timeline before hand.
When I try to load this external swf file in to a parent swf
file I get an error like this:
TypeError: Error #1009: Cannot access a property or method of
a null object reference.
at weekly_tasks_fla::MainTimeline/frame1()
This error happens whenever (in the external swf file) i add
an object
(like a button or a textfield) to the stage of the exteranl
swf file.
I am able to load other swf files ok (as long as I did not
create them!).
Confused Again,
eholz1

I sat typing into the quick reply, but this isn't sorry.
The issue here is that when you roll over another object
within the application it assumes that you have moved out of the
current object even if the new object is within the container of
the current object.
Hope that makes sense upto now. I had the same problem and
had to do this...
On mouse Over pr Rollover on internal object I run the stop
propogation and then restart the mouse over of the parent
container.
private function stopGadget(e:MouseEvent):void
// Stops the current mouse over running the parent container
mouse over. Then reloads the parent container for the gadget bar
(BIT OF A HACK)
e.stopPropagation();
Application.application.showTheGadget(e);
I think my comment sums it up a BIT of a Hack.

Edit a .swf file to place animation part in PPT.

I have windows 7 64bit installed with adobe CS6 full suite. i am trying to learn more about flash and adobe products in general. however i have a project i need to complete with power point slides were i want to take this packetsniffer.swf file and it to my MS power point slide. i need to open the .swf file and edit a couple slides out of it. I only need the one animation in it. how do i do this with adobe flash or some other application. then i will need help putting it in the power point slide show as a slide animation. thanks

An FLA is the source file you use to make a SWF. The original creator of the SWF file would have it.
There are many SWF decompilers out there, some paid, some free. You'll just have to Google it and experiment.

SWF Decompilers & intellectual property

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