From: Clem Cole <clemc@ccc.com>
To: Al Kossow <aek@bitsavers.org>
Cc: tuhs@tuhs.org
Subject: [TUHS] Re: Unix single-machine licensing (was Re: Re: ACM Software System Award to Andrew S. Tanenbaum for MINIX)
Date: Wed, 26 Jun 2024 16:57:28 -0400 [thread overview]
Message-ID: <CAC20D2NLqJKs4ihKkLpSRJr9m-n=NQjUz2c=wgS5ABGoNKsJOg@mail.gmail.com> (raw)
In-Reply-To: <2a929725-9ecf-ab7d-ffb1-bf0da3a2a688@bitsavers.org>
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The article says is *"REVIEW: Was Onyx the first UNIX vendor on micro
hardware? MARSH: I think so. I signed the distribution license in November
of 1979."*
By then, Al Arms (who ran Patent and Licensing of UNIX for AT&T) knew
numerous of the commercial licensees wanted something better than the
current "second CPU" license, plus many wanted binary redistribution
rights. As I said, it is quite possible that Onyx signed the original V7
redistribution license first, but it was offered to many of us. I also
pointed out that many of us pushed back and that there was
great unhappiness with the terms that AT&T had offered. This is why we got
together as a group to negotiate something. - which would later become the
System III license. This contrasts with Al and the team coming up with
something like they did with the V7 redistribution license.
ᐧ
On Wed, Jun 26, 2024 at 4:42 AM Al Kossow <aek@bitsavers.org> wrote:
> On 6/19/24 9:44 AM, Clem Cole wrote:
> >
> >
> > On Wed, Jun 19, 2024 at 12:00 PM Al Kossow <aek@bitsavers.org <mailto:
> aek@bitsavers.org>> wrote:
> >
> > On 6/19/24 8:47 AM, Clem Cole wrote:
> >
> > > That's how I remember Otis Wilson explaining it to us as
> commercial licensees at a licensing meeting in the early 1980s.
> > > We had finally completed the PWB 3.0 license to replace the V7
> commercial license (AT&T would rename this System III - but we knew it
> > as PWB
> > > 3.) during the negociations Summit had already moved on to the
> next version - PWB 4.0. IMO: Otis was not ready to start that
> > process again.
> >
> > Is the really early history of Unix licensing documented anywhere?
> >
> > Not to my knowledge -- I probably know much/most of it as I lived it as
> part of a couple of the negotiation teams.
> >
> > The work on reviving a Plexus P20 prompted me to put up the history
> of Onyx and Plexus at
> > http://bitsavers.org/pdf/plexus/history <
> http://bitsavers.org/pdf/plexus/history> and a long time ago someone who
> worked at Fortune
> > told me we can all thank Onyx in 1980 for working out the single
> machine licensing withAT&T
> >
> > Hmm, I'm not sure —but I don't think it is wholly clear—although Onyx
> was early and certainly would have been a part. They were not the only
> > firm that wanted redistribution rights.
> >
> > Numerous vendors asked for the V7 redistribution license, with HP (Fred
> Clegg), Microsoft (Bob Greenberg/Bill Gates), and Tektronix (me)
> > being three, I am aware. It is quite possible Onyx signed the original
> V7 license first, but I know there was great unhappiness with the
> > terms that AT&T initially set up. When the folks from AT&T Patents and
> Licensing (Al Arms at that point) talked to us individually, it was
> > sort of "this is what we are offering" - mind you, this all started
> >>pre-Judge Green<< and the concept of negotiation was
> > somewhat one-sided as AT&T was not allowed in the computer business.
> >
>
> An interview with Bob Marsh where he claims Onyx had the first license in
> Nov 1979 (pg 40)
> http://bitsavers.org/pdf/plexus/history/Bob_Marsh_Interview_198412.pdf
>
>
>
>
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next prev parent reply other threads:[~2024-06-26 20:58 UTC|newest]
Thread overview: 16+ messages / expand[flat|nested] mbox.gz Atom feed top
2024-06-18 15:41 [TUHS] ACM Software System Award to Andrew S. Tanenbaum for MINIX Nelson H. F. Beebe
2024-06-18 17:21 ` [TUHS] " Clem Cole
2024-06-18 17:38 ` segaloco via TUHS
2024-06-18 20:59 ` Dave Horsfall
2024-06-18 21:15 ` segaloco via TUHS
2024-06-18 22:00 ` Dave Horsfall
2024-06-19 6:55 ` arnold
2024-06-19 15:47 ` Clem Cole
2024-06-19 16:00 ` [TUHS] Unix single-machine licensing (was Re: Re: ACM Software System Award to Andrew S. Tanenbaum for MINIX) Al Kossow
2024-06-19 16:44 ` [TUHS] " Clem Cole
2024-06-26 8:42 ` Al Kossow
2024-06-26 20:57 ` Clem Cole [this message]
2024-06-27 14:10 ` Jonathan Gray
2024-06-19 19:10 ` segaloco via TUHS
2024-06-19 19:35 ` Jacobson, Doug W [E CPE]
2024-06-20 4:08 ` segaloco via TUHS
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