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) Message-ID: <19970711190927.53237@mi.uni-koeln.de> In-Reply-To: <Pine.SUN.3.91.970711113107.6134B-100000@terra>; from Ron G. Minnich on Fri, Jul 11, 1997 at 11:34:26AM -0400 References: <Pine.SUN.3.91.970711113107.6134B-100000@terra>
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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
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