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From: aglew@crhc.uiuc.edu (Andy Glew)
Newsgroups: comp.misc
Subject: Re: Latest code-copying decision
Message-ID: 
Date: 12 Sep 90 04:47:35 GMT
References: <1990Sep11.185105.14201@kodak.kodak.com>
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In-Reply-To: doering@kodak.kodak.com's message of 11 Sep 90 18:51:05 GMT

>The case involves suits and countersuits between IBM and Allen-Myland Inc, a
>company that apparently makes a living by modifying IBM mainframes to enhance
>their utility to the people who own (not lease) those mainframes. After a
>lengthy litigation the surviving claim was IBM's that A-M had copied
>proprietary microcode already installed in these machines and should instead
>have bought extra copies of the microcode rather than duplicating what the
>customer had already bought and paid for. (I believe that A-M modified the
>copied microcode and then installed the modified version to meet requirements
>unique to the company that owned the IBM mainframe.)

Hmm....  Isn't this like you buying a GM car, then taking it to one of
those "Supe-it-up" garages, who take out the carburetor, build another
carb that'll work like the original, only with better performance, and
then putting the new carb in your car?


--
Andy Glew, a-glew@uiuc.edu [get ph nameserver from uxc.cso.uiuc.edu:net/qi]