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Have you considered a career as a kidnapper? Taking it a bit too far but think about the why. The code is proprietary regardless.

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Overly dramatic comparisons, much?

Giving back the source code is like burying an ancient Egyptian mummy you just found. Of course the Pharaohs would protest you taking away the mummy but who cares? It is about preserving culture and making its intricate details visible to everyone.

Not like that at all. The source is Blizzard's intellectual property, doesn't matter where you found it (not to mention you're overestimating the cultural value of the source files).

If culture is to be preserved I'm sure some of the original developers would make so. On the other hand, we could definitely do with shorter IP rights like 20-30 years, so that devs could legally release it within their lifetimes.

>The source is Blizzard's intellectual property

The tomb and its contents are the property of the Pharaoh in it.

Except the Pharaoh would still be alive(!?) in this case.

The source code will be Blizzard IP for a long time after the coders are dead.

Neither Chris Metzen or James Phinney even works at Blizzard anymore. The same is likely true for many of the coders.

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