Mike McNally says:
Something told me once by a legal person was that it's not illegal to warn someone that they're doing something illegal when they're not. In other words, RSADSI's vow to maim and mutilate anyone found near a machine with "rc4.c" on a disk may or may not carry actual weight.
The phrase "illegal" is wrong here. Potentially, RSADSI has a civil action that it can bring against some people, but nothing criminal has been claimed thus far. I know there are certain states with statutes making trade secret violations a crime, but thats not what is being alleged thus far. I will also note that all good attorneys regularly draft letters on behalf of their clients claiming that you will be stripped of all your assets and get a bad case of leprosy if you don't do what we want. Such letters tend to "stretch" the law a bit. Its not clear that Bidzos does or does not have any course of action to take against third parties that have or do work with the RC4 code. He might have potential mechanisms available to him, and he might just be threatening to spread Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt. I'm not sufficiently familiar with all the details of trade secret law. Perry