|
Message
From: Niclas Hedhman <niclas@h...>
Date: Fri, 23 May 2003 11:30:05 -0800
Subject: Re: [oc] i386 legally
On Thursday 22 May 2003 06:51 pm, H. Peter Anvin wrote:
> Niclas Hedhman wrote:
> > 80386 was released ~1987, so patents would be covered for another 8-10
> > years. Exactly what patents there are on the 80386 is hard to know
> > without a search.
>
> Again, IANAL, but this is my understanding of things:
>
> a) A patent cannot be filed more than 1 year after the invention was
> offered for sale;
I think this may be country dependent. Sweden for sure is that the patent must
be filed before it has been otherwise published, in print or in product.
> b) Patents are valid until 20 years after date of file, *or* 17 years
> after date of issue (in the U.S. only and only for patents filed before
> some time in the late '90s.)
Ohh. I thought it was 25 years. Nevertheless, 17years after issue, is another
interesting part, since many patents take years from filing to issuance, the
IC for instance was ~2 decades.
> It's thus unlikely that if a processor was released in 1987 that there
> would be any valid patents after 2008.
OTOH, what on 80386 was NEW? ;o) v86 mode perhaps? Who needs that nowadays?
Niclas
|
 |
Browse
