I think you have it backwards.
It is very hard to look at circuitry that one of
your engineers creates, and know for certain that
it is free of patent infringements. Most engineers
are likely to independently "invent" most inventions
given the right set of needs and circumstances.
So, tektronix (purely as an example) has a cabal
of engineers develop a product, and they create
tons of circuitry and code; the odds are very good
that it infringes someone's patent somewhere.
If you put the circuits and the source code out
there for public viewing, then those that are
trolling for infringements only have to get a manual
and look it over for stuff that looks like it might
be in their portfolio of patents, and you are screwed.
If, however, you keep all of that literature secret,
then the trolls have to decompile all of your code,
and figure out what it does, and how. And they
have to trace your circuit boards, and brute force
the code in your ASICS. All before they can see if
you have infringed any of their property.
One act costs you the loan of a manual. The other
is a long term research project taking thousands of
hours.
-Chuck Harris
Vincent Trouilliez wrote:
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Hi Chuck,
Thanks for that... didn't occur to me :-(
So in short, the patents that Tek filed originally with the intent of PROTECTING themselves... is 20 years down the line playing AGAINST them ? Their own patent keeps the from releasing component level info on their '90's stuff.. shame.
I thought a patent was own by the company, that they could do whatever they wanted with it (they paid to file it, after all), sell it to another company, give it out to whoever as a gift... I guess I am no lawyer, that's for sure ;-)
There is good news though, in what you say (if I do understand correctly that is ! Frog here, not native...) --> it implies/suggests that maybe, maybe... Tek does have a will to release schematics for their newer stuff, progressively, as the patents progressively expire and their hands get untied...
Or maybe someone at Tek will be brave enough to copy all these manuals on a USB drive and post them on the net ! Just like you can find pirate copies of all the schematics for all Apple laptops, as soon as they hit the market... and despite Apple going to great length to keep third party repair shops from repairing anything. So if their schematics escaped,in real time, from a XXXXX billion dollar company that does have an impressive will for anything not to leak.... then maybe schematics will some day manage to escape Tektronix's servers... Just kidding...
Maybe when I am old and grey, I will be able to download the full schematics for my little TDS 320, and the 784D or 694C I am hoping to buy one day.
For now I am happy to at least have the manuals for my beloved 317, 2232 and 5111, and partial schematics for my TDS 544A :-)
Vincent Trouilliez
