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From: phil@amdcad.UUCP (Phil Ngai)
Newsgroups: net.micro
Subject: Re: NEC V20 ---> 8088
Message-ID: <4146@amdcad.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 18-Sep-85 22:33:28 EDT
Article-I.D.: amdcad.4146
Posted: Wed Sep 18 22:33:28 1985
Date-Received: Fri, 20-Sep-85 04:03:45 EDT
References: <1438@brl-tgr.ARPA> <10406@ucbvax.ARPA>
Reply-To: phil@amdcad.UUCP (Phil Ngai)
Organization: AMD, Sunnyvale, California
Lines: 35

In article <10406@ucbvax.ARPA> spp@ucbvax.ARPA (Stephen P Pope) writes:
>other form, to produce its "pirate" 8088's.  It would
>be illegal for NEC to sell 8088's that were designed with
>the use of stolen or proprietary information.  But it
>has never been alleged that NEC has done any of these things.
>What they have done is reproduce the 8088 starting from
>its data-sheet, and other public-domain information, and
>this is perfectly legal.

I was told the following story at a party so I can't really back it up
without a lot of work but it may be interesting anyway:

Apparently Intel had a microcode bug in the 8088 which they needed to
fix in a big hurry. So they edited the mask and changed the bits in
a place where they normally wouldn't be changed, overriding the normal
layer where microcode was stored. They were pursuing a suit against NEC
when it was discovered that the NEC 8088 had the same kludge microcode
patch. When this was disclosed in the newspaper (Wall Street Journal
or Washington Post, wish I could remember which and when), NEC suddenly
agreed to settle out of court and gave Intel everything they wanted
(some large sum of money).

If this story is true then:
1) It has been alleged that NEC has done illegal things like copy masks.
2) A rather convincing proof is present in NEC's willingness to settle
at a high cost to themselves.

Again, I'm only speaking for myself.

-- 
 We changed Coke again. hee hee

 Phil Ngai (408) 749-5720
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