@rplst8 posted:I'm anxious, like many here, to see what 3rd party options pop up. That said, reproducing mechanical parts and reproducing command-control and sound electronics is quite something else. I suspect that many people who have the know-how would be worried about getting sued to oblivion by the big L if they tried and made any mis-steps... even with the vast majority of the TMCC protocol long out of patent protection.
You have a good point, however the only thing that is substantially different is the software. Reproducing hardware is just like reproducing electrical or mechanical parts.
Two things to consider:
- Patents -- Mechanical, electrical, and electronic parts, and software might still be covered by one or more patents. This could be an issue if Lionel does not wish to license any of these, but back in the day Lionel's electrical and mechanical parts were covered by patents, and still third parties sprung up to reproduce these parts. I assume there was no legal issue when they did because the patents had already expired (17 years, and then later on 20 years).
- Copyrights -- Software is the same as electrical and mechanical parts from a patent point of view, but quite different in that it can also be copyrighted. Copyrights on the software in Lionel's boards did not/does not expire in 20 years. Copyrights can be renewed for a much longer period. This would likely be the issue that would get tangled up in licensing the third party sales of reproduction boards.
If understand things correctly though there is nothing to stop a third party from writing it's own software that accomplishes the same task in a different way. Patents prevent this, as long as they are active, but copyrights do not.
Another way to say it is that patents allow the patent holder to prevent reverse engineering, but copyrights don't.
I think that the hardware folks needed to do what is needed are largely already available. Assuming that any applicable patents have expired are there any software engineers out there who'd like to take a stab at it and help them? Any intellectual property attorneys to verify that the approach is feasible?
Mike
