Reverse engineering for the purpose of achieving interoperability of systems is often protected as fair use or by the DMCA. Also, discovering a trade secret by fair and honest means does not violate trade secret law. If reverse engineering is accomplished through the use of theft, bribery, misrepresentation, breach or inducement of a breach of a duty to maintain secrecy, or espionage, then the discovery is not “by fair and honest means.” Moreover, reverse engineering can also be unlawful if an applicable contract prohibits it. Under the DMCA, it is unlawful to bypass technological protection measures (such as encryption or password authentication), unless doing so comes within an exemption for security research or another applicable exemption. Using the results of reverse engineering to create a substantial copy or derivative work that harms the original product’s market value, may constitute copyright infringement. If a patented invention is discovered through reverse engineering, exploiting it may result in liability for patent infringement.