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Is breathalyzer source code fair game?

By: Doug Aamoth Kentucky-based CMI has come under fire on more than one occasion for not turning over the source code used in the breathalyzers that it sells to various law enforcement agencies, citing trade secrets as the reason for keeping the code under wraps. Well that hasn't sat too well with people who have been pulled over and cited with DUIs, as some of them have claimed that the machines aren't registering blood alcohol levels accurately. Just this week, 100 cases were thrown out of a Bradenton, Florida court after defense attorneys demanded to have the source code for CMI's Intoxilyzer 5000 examined by breathalyzer experts. Kentucky-based CMI refused to turn over the code and software used with its machines, despite threats of more than $2 million in fines. When that technology is used as evidence in a trial, should it be open to scrutiny by the defense? Your thoughts? To read the complete news article from Crunch Gear, click here.

Full post as published by The Trade Secrets Vault on January 17, 2009 (boomark / email).