NBitWonder writes:
I was exploring building a project the other day, when I came up with some questions about the legal basis for doing so. With that in mind I did some research, and wrote up a legal tutorial for US makers on International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR). The tutorial is supposed to give makers a good basic understanding of the law, which is especially helpful for those people working on advanced projects.
Via the contact form.
This is only valid for residents of the united states, _not_ for people elsewhere. The rules in your country may be completely different.
It’s also NOT a legal tutorial – the write acknowledges he has no legal training at all!
The write acknowledges he has no formal legal training (i.e. he’s not a law school student), but he needn’t be a legal expert to write a legal tutorial, no more than one need be a certified electrical engineer to write tutorials on electronics (etc. etc. etc.)
Except that legal advice has a hell of alot more controlling rules and laws. Hell, some states and courts have found that legal form packets you can get at any office supply store can lead the company that makes them to be classified as legal representation, and the consequences there in.
At a previous job I was an engineer for a weapons manufacture. We had one person who was responisible for ITAR issues. It was a constant issue. There are things that are dual use that can fall under ITAR.
I would not take it lightly. You can and will be prosecuted if you disclose information that might fit under ITAR. The rules can apply to individuals outside of the USA. There are quite a few examples of people being prosecuted or worse that were not US citizens or not even in the USA.