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Date: Fri, 11 Jul 1997 19:09:27 +0200
From: Stefan Esser <se@FreeBSD.ORG>
To: "Ron G. Minnich" <rminnich@sarnoff.com>
Cc: freebsd-hardware@FreeBSD.ORG, Stefan Esser <se@FreeBSD.ORG>
Subject: Re: NDA? (fwd)
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On Jul 11, "Ron G. Minnich" <rminnich@Sarnoff.COM> wrote:
> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> From: Michael Lobue <lobue@zocalo.net>

> i/o or intelligent i/o.  Obtaining a license through membership is
> probably a less expensive development/product path because all
> members participate in a royalty free cross licensing agreement for
> each others patents in this development space.

Ahhh, I see, that's what they are after :)

Whatever clever things you develop for an I2O product
is "cross-licenced" to other members of the I2O group.

And it is hard to develop some product with a similar
goal as that of I2O, since you always face the risk
of violating some (as of yet unknown to you) patent
of any one of the I2O members. And as seen before,
no matter how good your product, everybody will ask
for that "xxx compliant" label, just because it never
hurts to buy a product that carries more of them.


Hmmm, who might be able to take advantage of hundreds
of "inventions" available to them under that cross-
licence, I wonder ... ;-)

(No, I don't really wonder. It is some big players,
who are given access to inventions of smaller, more 
flexible members, I guess.)


So much for conspiracy theories ... :)


Regards, STefan