Would you? If I could profit 1E9 Euros tomorrow by stealing someone's code, even if i were immoral I'd realize it'd probably be worth at least 1E7 Euros to develop it from scratch and avoid the risk of losing all those illegal gains in court. Especially since we're dealing with microcontrollers that are usually 64k or less, there's a limit to how much can really be packed in there.

Don't get be wrong, I realize there's an occasional product that has some truly amazing proprietary algorithms where perhaps it could take decades for a competitor to get to where an existing product is today where it could be attractive to just steal the code. But I think that's the exception rather than the norm.

It seems to me that the only place it might make sense to steal microcontroller code of this magnitude is if you're building millions of widgets and offering virtually no support. All that matters is the cost of the widget and maybe the quality; but those kinds of programs could be easily written from scratch in a heartbeat. More expensive devices (the kind that will usually have amazing proprietary algorithms), your defense against some idiot stealing your code is offering the best service--and perhaps regular updates with new features so your competitor that is stealing your code is always offering an obsolete product. And they're smaller markets so it's easier to identify competitors that are using your code in their knock-offs.

Legal or not, if someone wants your code, they'll get it. If your whole business is based on your code being unobtainable, you have a very tenuous business model.

IMHO.

Regards,
Craig Steiner