In the '80s, companies like tektronix were just starting
to have to deal with these sorts of lawsuits.
Prior to that time, patents were generally owned by companies
that funded the research that resulted in the patent, and
were planning to actually exploit their patent. Now, large
blocks of patents are bought up by investment companies,
called patent trolls, that exist purely for filing infringement
lawsuits, and charging royalties.
Patents only exist for a short while, and one should be safe
when one expiration term has passed since the instrument was
produced... But then, there are copyrights.
-Chuck Harris
Vincent Trouilliez wrote:
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Thanks for your perseverance ;-) I get it now.
That's bad news then.. means they will never ever release any schematics.
I wonder though, why they were not "scared" or releasing their schematics up to the '80s, and decided it was suddenly too "risky" when they entered the "digital" age in the early '90's with the first TDS scopes and such.
Only hope would be (not a lawyer again) : if law states for example, that any patent on such devices, can only be valid up to 30 years no matter what... then it means Tek could release all the schematics with a 30 year (or whatever) delay, knowing that even if they did unwillingly infringe some patent, no matter what it was... they would be safe. Unless such a scenario exist, then yeah I guess there is nothing to hope for, even in 50 years time... :-(
Vincent Trouilliez
