Xref: utzoo comp.misc:2447 comp.arch:4913
Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!clyde!wtr@moss.ATT.COM
From: wtr@moss.ATT.COM
Newsgroups: comp.misc,comp.arch
Subject: Re: Japanese 32-bit micro can be a 68020 or 80386
Message-ID: <26767@clyde.ATT.COM>
Date: 20 May 88 13:29:00 GMT
References: <53780@sun.uucp> <2006@sugar.UUCP> <3527@pasteur.Berkeley.Edu>
Sender: nuucp@clyde.ATT.COM
Reply-To: wtr@moss.UUCP (Bill Rankin)
Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories, Whippany NJ
Lines: 45

In article <3527@pasteur.Berkeley.Edu> faustus@ic.Berkeley.EDU (Wayne A. Christopher) writes:
>
>Hmm, that's really interesting.  If you reverse engineer the microcode,
>feed it to a logic synthesis tool (like a PLA optimizer and generator),
>and put that on your chip, isn't that just like taking excerpts from
>somebody's book and rearranging them, changing the names of all the
>characters, and making global substitutions like "do not" for "don't",
>then selling it under your own name?  What does copyright law say about
>this?
>

well, not really.  this isn't a strict case of "reverse-engineering"
i don't BELIEVE (CMA) that the case you described is appropriate.

the case we have here would be more like reading a set of Cliff's 
Notes, with basic character desciptions and plot summary, and then
compose a novel with the same basic structure/plot/ending.  (i will
admit that there is a possablity a legality about character name
usage ;-)

the engineers have taken a set of high level specifications, and
have build a PLA machine that behaves the exact same way as the
original processor.  phoenix did the same basic thing with ibm's
roms (take that itsey bitsey machine company!)

the legal question may arise if the engineers in question had direct
contact with the original microcode during their developement. 
however, what if the VM folkes claim that their machine is a
'hardware emulator' or some such? (microcode emulator?)  sounds like
litagation to me!  gawd! imagine if apple had been involved in this.

=====================================================================
Bill Rankin
Bell Labs, Whippany NJ
(201) 386-4154 (cornet 232)

email address:		...![ ihnp4 ulysses cbosgd allegra ]!moss!wtr
			...![ ihnp4 cbosgd akgua watmath  ]!clyde!wtr
=====================================================================

PS- why is it that companies all seem to think that the best way to
make money is to sue the pants off their competitors instead of
produce a better/cheaper product?

this is getting worse than malpractice suits.