Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!cbmvax!cbmehq!cbmger!peterk From: peterk@cbmger.UUCP (Peter Kittel GERMANY) Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga Subject: Re: abcfd20 uploads (was Re: ProTracker on FTP) Message-ID: <520@cbmger.UUCP> Date: 18 Oct 90 07:17:01 GMT References: <1990Oct16.121820.2417@ifi.uio.no> <1990Oct17.202058.16301@hoss.unl.edu> Reply-To: peterk@cbmger.UUCP (Peter Kittel GERMANY) Organization: Commodore Bueromaschinen GmbH, West Germany Lines: 26 In article <1990Oct17.202058.16301@hoss.unl.edu> 252u3130@fergvax.unl.edu (Phil Dietz) writes: > >1) About Atari1. How do YOU know that they didn't create their own >version of TOS?? Hmmmm... About 4 years ago all the IBM CLONES came out >and they legally were allowed to be sold! At least for the Commodore PC clones, I can tell you that IBM actually tried hard to sue us for pirating, back then in 1985 when we brought them out. But we could prove that the BIOS (and this is the only part you could sue someone) was developed on our own and the case was settled. And I think it was Phoenix who took big effort in proving that their BIOS was an own development, working with programmers who had to sign that they never had come across any IBM BIOS stuff before, so they were "clean". The result is: PC BIOS has to do such elementary (read primitive) functions, that you can reproduce its functionality fairly easy. And when you additionally consider some of the known ROM addresses where nasty software uses to jump directly, then you are well done without risking legal conflicts with IBM. -- Best regards, Dr. Peter Kittel // E-Mail to \\ Only my personal opinions... Commodore Frankfurt, Germany \X/ {uunet|pyramid|rutgers}!cbmvax!cbmger!peterk