Infringing Products!

Chapter 51 Infringing Products!

'???'

When those words were spoken, Ethan Jones was completely stunned!

Was the first-generation 6502 chip developed based on the Motorola 6800?

What the hell!

Isn't that blatant plagiarism?

Under his persistent questioning, Chuck Patel revealed the situation facing MOS 6502.

It turns out that after leaving Motorola, these engineers who came from Motorola immediately began to develop low-cost chips, but developing chips is not such a simple thing.

Every morning after arriving at work, they would spread out their drawings on their desks, and then spend the whole day with a cup of coffee, a pack of cigarettes, and a blank sheet of paper.

They were unable to put pen to paper for a long time.

It's not that I can't draw it.

Rather, they didn't know how to draw it.

Because they had previously developed the Motorola 6800!

Once your invention has been tested by the market and proven to be problem-free, asking them to change their approach and start over is practically killing them.

Under these circumstances, they racked their brains for a long time and finally made some innovations, designing a CPU called MOS 6501.

So what are the innovative features of this CPU?

It fixed some bugs in the Motorola 6800...

If you take apart a computer with a Motorola 6800, remove the 6800, and then solder the MOS 6501 back on, you'll find that the machine still works normally. Not only that, the 6501 performs even better than the 6800!

When this fact came to light, Chuck Patel and the others were stunned!

Because they know that this is plagiarism.

It's just that I copied myself.

Unsure how to handle the situation, they sent a letter to Motorola informing them of the status of the MOS 6501.

Then--

Motorola then sued MOS.

Motorola stated that MOS infringed its patent rights and demanded that MOS cease infringement and compensate for its losses.

Since MOS was just a small company founded in 1969, in order to ensure that their company could continue to operate normally, they had no choice but to slide down their knees and quickly reach an out-of-court settlement with Motorola.

They voluntarily abandoned the MOS 6501 product and compensated Motorola with $200,000.

Since MOS proactively informed them of the incident, and most of MOS's engineers came from Motorola, Motorola didn't bother with it after the apology and compensation.

Chuck Patel and others, unwilling to give up on their dreams, developed a new chip, the MOS 6502.

"So... does your MOS 6502 infringe on any copyrights?"

Chuck Patto's description made Ethan Jones's teeth ache.

He never expected that the reason MOS's products were so cheap was because their research and development costs were extremely low.

What the hell is this?!

Upon hearing Ethan Jones's question, Chuck Patto on the other end of the phone chuckled helplessly, "Ethan, that's all I can tell you. The MOS 6502 is incompatible with the Motorola 6800. Also, the MOS 6502 uses a newer manufacturing process."

"have to!"

Ethan understood.

The architecture of the MOS 6502 is probably not much different from that of the Motorola 6800.

This may be a problem that Chuck Patel will never be able to solve.

After all, people's thinking patterns are fixed.

When someone is convinced that they are on the right track, the only way to make them turn back is to hit a brick wall.

Ethan felt uneasy when he thought about the ambiguous relationship between the 6502 and Motorola.

When Jinshan (a financial institution) faces legal issues...

So what exactly was the glitz and glamour he saw?

Is it readily available gold, or stinking dog shit?

Ethan was unaware.

But he knew he had to ask about the key points before buying the license.

"So, Mr. Patrick, have you consulted a lawyer?"

This question made Chuck Patto sigh. "Ethan, our company has legal counsel, and they told me that if Motorola really wants to sue us again, we might still be found guilty of infringement."

"Is there a way to solve this?"

"We are working on it."

"Then I'd like to know, since you don't have any patents, how dare you sell your products? And as far as I know, you'll be participating in the San Francisco Electronics Show in September?"

"Uh... since you trust us so much, we'll be frank with you. It's just a temporary plan. If there are any problems, we can skip it. As for the sales... let me put it this way: if there are buyers, we'll produce; if there aren't, we won't. This way, if Motorola does sue us, we can minimize our losses. Also, if we can sell a large number of chips at once, it'll be something we can do for the market."

After exchanging a few more words, Ethan hung up the phone.

After leaning against the table and thinking about it carefully for a while, Ethan felt increasingly uneasy.

Is the MOS 6502 actually an infringing product?

How did it sell so well in its previous life?

A settlement has been reached with Motorola?

Or has a solution been found?

Ethan could not find any memory related to it.

At the same time, he also suspected that Chuck Patel was trying to fool him.

Is it simply because they don't want to authorize it that they're claiming there are legal issues?

When he asked the chubby boy who came back that night to confirm this idea, the chubby boy's first reaction was surprise, and his second reaction was to ask around for Ethan.

After making several phone calls and addressing him as "uncle" and "elder brother" a few times, Ethan finally learned the truth from him.

"What Chuck and the others said is correct."

"Motorola did sue them and demanded one million in compensation, but they did eventually reach a settlement and paid two hundred thousand."

"It seems I was wrong; this matter is indeed quite troublesome."

Woz's words gave Ethan a headache.

The one who had an even bigger headache than him was Steve Jobs.

After Woz finished dinner and went into the garage, he sidled up to Ethan and asked nervously, "Will this legal issue affect computer sales?"

Ethan shrugged and said, "It definitely won't have any impact on normal use, but it's hard to say about other things."

"To give you an analogy, if you buy a batch of 6502 chips and then put them in computers for sale, Motorola can't stop you from doing that. Even if Motorola sues MOS and wins the case and stops the production of 6502 chips, these chips that have already entered the market will not be recalled."

"but……"

"What happens after 6502 runs out?"

"What kind of chip should you use?"

"There is simply no such inexpensive alternative on the market."

"Oh! Sxxt!" This fact made Steve Jobs curse.

In a fit of anger, he kicked the chair.

Immediately following was a series of clanging and banging noises.

The orange-yellow wooden chairs collided with the old floor, emitting painful groans.

And then...

Steve Jobs left home and rode off on his motorcycle.

Hearing the sudden roar, Ethan sighed.

Although his memories from his past life told him that MOS 6502 could survive until 2023, and that the patent issue could definitely be resolved, he truly had no idea how or by what means to resolve it.

He could indeed use his memories from his past life to purchase the license for MOS 6502, but no one could guarantee that the butterfly effect he created would make MOS 6502 legendary once again.

What if MOS 6502 fails to resolve the patent dispute despite his involvement?

So, his rush to buy the license is tantamount to pulling down his pants and letting someone else defecate in his crotch.

This looks a bit brain-dead, doesn't it?

Holy crap!

"Why is my time travel experience different from everyone else's?"

"Is it really that hard for me to find some money?"

Note: ① Motorola has confirmed that the 6501, the predecessor to the 6502, was indeed a direct copy. Motorola also pulled a stunt here: wasn't the 6501 infringing and fixing a bug in the 6800? After winning the lawsuit, Motorola simply used the 6501 to fix the 6800 bug. ② In reality, if MOS hadn't told Motorola they made the 6501 and hadn't showcased it, they wouldn't have had to pay compensation, but these engineers did it anyway. I don't know why. ③ The 6502 does indeed have copyright issues. Synertek, who owns the production rights, confirmed this. Their contract with MOS included a clause stating they would cease production of the 6502 if Motorola filed a lawsuit.

(End of this chapter)