Just to keep the thread alive (or... If you've posted once, you might as
well do it again.)

On Mon, 1 Jun 1998, Gary Crowell Sr. wrote:

I wrote:
> > Patent 1) A "keychip" (small microcontroller, not PIC) was located on

> Interesting.  Back in that same time frame, I worked for a company where
> it was my task to create a clone of the HP printer memory expansion
> cards.  The HP2P came out with a new form factor card than earlier
> models, and that card also had a "keychip" microcontroller.  I wonder if
> they were violating a Nintendo patent?

The actual idea behind the keychip was that it was a challenge protocol
with arithmetic processing needed to generate the reply. As I remember
it, the patent was written in such a way that the data-changing nature of
the reply was the sensitive part, not the microcontroller. They may have
even used wording like 'digital electronic component' to try to block all
technologies.

I also believe the patent would have been proven invalid if challenged.
The U.S. Court system of that time wasn't quite computer savvy enough to
know what the prior art was in that field. Had a judge been forced to
think about it for a few weeks, it would have been clear. (Just the idea
of Nintendo getting a patent on a D-Shell connecter shows how messed up
things were... And no, the patent was not a design patent on *that
cartridge*, it was the general shape.)

> However the controller was also
> doing a minor configuration task [nothing that couldn't have been done
> with a GAL], so maybe that got around it.

I believe the hashing the Nintendo key chip was doing could also have been
done with a GAL, or even a small ROM. My personal belief is that Nintendo
was simply smart enough to realize that if they picked a fight with an HP,
they'd loose. Anyway, HP was not the competition.

[snip: price fixing schemes]
same with Nintendo, and everybody else who can get away with it.

[snip]

> We decoded it by acid burning off the top of the package and reading the
> masked ROM with a microscope.  Not the most fun job, but not as hard as
> you might expect.

No clean room for you guys! Now that is courage.

[snip to end]

Fun fun fun... Now it would only make my PIC code work. (Better.. yeah,
that's it, it works but needs improvement... That'll buy me some time...)

Once again, all Trademarks are the property of their owners, all comments
are mine, and if anybody files a lawsuit, I better not be named.

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Jon Valesh - Implementor    |
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