Quote:
Originally Posted by Bruce Abbott
BTW Commodore wasn't the only one to get a license to make 8088's and not make use if it. MOSTEK did the same. They didn't receive any of the assets required (schematics, chip layout etc.) to clone it. The same may have applied to Commodore. The rights may have just been so they could get another manufacturer to make the chips for them without worrying about being sued. |
Well MOSTEK is a very interesting but different story:
They went from Nr. 1 DRAM producer with >60% market share to almost bankruptcy in 1985, because a Japanese cartel was dumping RAM chips, forcing eventually all US RAM manufacturers out of that business...
(Courts ruled the dumping was illegal and from 86 on the US put tariffs on DRAM from Japan - but it was too late by then. Jack Tramiel's Atari got involved in some illegal importing of DRAM the following years...)
MOSTEK not only got a 8088 license but a general x86 license, that would have allowed them to eventually produce 286, 386, 486 - and in fact they did, but only after they were acquired by French STMicroelectronics.
Cyrix CPUs up to the 386 were produced by STM, since Cyrix did not have a fab nor the rights ...
MOSTEC's licenses and patents made eventually hundreds of millions for STM, which only payed $70 million for MOSTEK in 1985.
MOSTEK also had a second source license for the 68000 and the Z80 by the way.
If I were a time traveling billionaire I would acquire Amiga Inc. in 84, MOSTEK in 85 and Sinclair in 86 - that would be an unstoppable combination.