Dataset of commercial binaries: release possible? For my final thesis in university, I have created a dataset of third-party applications for macOS. For each version of each app, the dataset contains the original executable, the original Info.plist file containing app-specific metadata and a couple of other files summarising the app's contents (file sizes, file names, ...). Almost all apps are commercial software.

I am looking for ways to release or make available (parts) of this dataset to the public. Due to copyright law, I probably cannot just release all data. What are my options?

Here is what I've been thinking:

I suspect I could release the dataset after all binaries have been removed. However, this reduces the usefulness of the data drastically. Would I also have to strip the Info.plist files as they are copied verbatim from the application bundle? Would I be allowed to include limited parts / metadata of binaries such as linked libraries, imported symbols, functions names, strings and the like?

Another option would be to invite researchers to contact me to get access to the full dataset. Would that be appropriate?

Am I allowed to create a service à la shodan.io, that offers an API for others to work with the dataset, without providing direct access to the binaries?
(We're not lawyers here, and this may be off-topic, but I've had similar situations and will hazard a response).

This all comes down to the license agreement of the software you are using. The license will specify:


whether you can distribute it
whether your code is considered "derivative" (or allowed at all)
whether you can make the software available as a service through an API.


It sounds like you are using commercial software, so the answers to the above are likely to be in the negative. If the license agreement does not prohibit doing what you're doing, it is likely OK to publish your code and give instructions for how to acquire the proprietary software and what to do with it after it's acquired; however, it sounds like in your case, there may not be a lot left after you remove the proprietary stuff.