Microcontroller Reverse Engineering Definition refers to extract source code from Microcontroller embedded memory include flash and eeprom/eprom by analyzing and studying other companies microcontroller. It is divided into two parts.
The first part is to protect those who study the layout design only for the purpose of teaching, analyzing and evaluating the layout design, find its memories location as well as the databus, security fuse bit, etc. In the process of academic teaching and research, analyzing and evaluating the registered microcontroller layout design is allowed because this is for non-profit purposes. In this non-profit academic use, even the entire mcu reverse engineering process is possible. This part is not controversial, because non-profit use does not cause much harm to rights holders.
The controversial part is the second part, which allows microcontroller cracker and manufacturers to copy and analyze the registered MCU layout designs, and incorporate the results of the analysis and evaluation into their own layout designs and manufacture them for the purpose of profitable.
At this point, the Microcontroller internal structure as well as its electrical and physical characteristics will be found, studied and analyzed, and the flaw and structure bug can be spotted on the microcontroller and being break to release the firmware in the format of binary or heximal which cause loss to the designer;
Industry practice considers this to be a fair competition, because it can provide original firmware from a second source, and the law also stipulates that such behavior is a legal act, unlike plagiarism. So far, the controversial issue is not whether to recognize the legitimacy of microcontroller reverse engineering definition, but how to determine the criteria for it.