On Monday 19 April 2004 20:48, ben franchuk wrote:
> Michael Sokolov wrote:
> > The proper way to make a real PDP-11 (or VAX or any other Classic
> > computer) available to everyone who wants one is put them back in
> > FULL PRODUCTION. Not just hobby, but real full production and
> > commercial sales (for a reasonable commercial price).
>
> How ever does not the PDP-11 and VAX still patents out proventing
> them from being cloned?
If the patents took 6 years after being registered to be accepted (a
relatively long time), and they're enforcable for 17 years, that means
that any significant VAX pantents (which would/should have been applied
for no later than the VAX-11/780's release in 1977) would have expired
in 2000. I think it's safe to assume that VAX and PDP-11 patents would
have expired.
Don't forget how old the VAX and -11 are, relative to how long patents
last. As well, anything newer than that would likely be on things like
chipset architecture, or CPU implementation details, which would be
nearly useless to bother following when implementing a modernized
version of the CPU. As well, DEC wasn't as IP-heavy as someone like
IBM. It was possible/encouraged for third parties to build compatible
hardware when these machines were still being produced.
Pat
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Received on Mon Apr 19 2004 - 21:08:22 BST