CH54 - Law

Ethan never expected that, after Barbara heard his description, she would directly pronounce a death sentence on MOS Company.

Although her words were a bit harsh, Ethan admitted that her reasoning seemed to make sense.

However, Ethan couldn't accept such a result.

I came here asking for help, and you're telling me to give up and wait for death?

Who could endure this?

"Professor Barbara, this situation is indeed a bit difficult, and their approach may be very inappropriate. However, considering that they are all technicians in the field of science and technology, could you please help us take a look? See if there are any loopholes we can exploit?"

Ethan wanted to make another attempt.

His insistence, however, caused a slight frown on Barbara Babcock's forehead.

She glanced at Evelyn.

Caught in the puzzled gaze, Evelyn quickly said, "Professor Barbara, this matter is really troubling, and we all hope that the chip can smoothly enter the market, allowing more people to enjoy true technological progress."

Adding, "Although I haven't discussed this with Professor Vint so far, I believe that once he understands the situation, he will definitely support these people in pursuing their dreams. You know, he has always been discussing with you about using technology to drive social progress."

Barbara chuckled at the somewhat pleading words.

"Fine," she took a deep breath.

Refocusing her gaze on Ethan, she said, "For Vint's sake, Ethan, carefully explain the situation to me."

"Now is not the time for legal consultation. Just consider it a friendly chat. I need to know more details."

With Barbara saying that Ethan naturally couldn't go into any detailed summaries.

He directly conveyed the information he had gathered.

When Barbara's eyes suddenly lit up upon learning that most of the 6502 production team came from Motorola, Ethan noticed.

Waiting for her to realize that MOS had voluntarily reported the infringement of 6501, she suddenly stood up, signalling Ethan to stop talking. At the same time, she waved at them, "Follow me."

The two were a bit puzzled by this situation, but Ethan and Evelyn didn't ask, and they followed.

Led by Barbara, Ethan and Evelyn arrived at her study.

It was a room on the third floor, covering even the entire top floor.

On horizontally arranged bookshelves, neatly placed were mostly dark-covered books.

At first glance, the overwhelming sense of heaviness was the power of knowledge.

Ethan felt it was a bit overwhelming here, but Barbara was fine. Pointing to the middle two rows of bookshelves, she said, "On shelves two, three, and four, you'll find books on California's local laws. Help me find a book called 'Commercial and Business Code.' On shelves six, seven, and eight, you'll find federal law books. Check if there's anything similar to the Business Secrets Protection Act."

"Ethan, follow the order of two, three, four, six, seven, eight from top to bottom. Evelyn, follow the order of eight, seven, six, two, three, four from top to bottom. As for me, I'll do the opposite, from the back to the front."

"Everyone needs to check the titles of all the books, and don't miss a single one!"

Following Barbara's arrangement, Ethan and Evelyn immediately started searching.

Although she mentioned only six bookshelves, each shelf had two sides, making a total of six layers.

The three of them worked together, and it took an hour to go through all six bookshelves.

And the results...

Barbara's mentioned "Commercial and Business Code" series was found.

However, in federal law, there was not a single book related to the Business Secrets Protection Act.

This fact made Ethan purse his lips, but Barbara thought it was a good thing.

"It seems I remembered correctly," she muttered to herself.

Ethan didn't understand Barbara's meaning, and he exchanged a glance with Evelyn.

What he saw was also confusion.

Barbara, on the other hand, seemed energetic. After placing the ten volumes of "Commercial and Business Code" on the desk, she began searching frantically according to the index. About ten minutes later, having found the relevant clauses, she stood up, and pushed the door open.

"I'll make a call."

"You can wait here, or you can come with me."

'Is this a breakthrough?'

Ethan's lips curled up, his face full of anticipation.

Glancing at the page Barbara opened, the dense legal provisions made him quickly focus.

And when they followed Barbara back to the first-floor living room, she was still on the phone, chatting for an hour.

Initially, Barbara was confirming her memory with the person on the other end.

"Hello, Professor Edward... Yes, yes, it's Barbara... I'm calling you to consult on a problem. Is there no federal-level Business Secrets Protection Act in the United States?"

"Oh, you remember too? So, if a business company in California feels that a former employee has leaked the company's trade secrets, it must be judged according to the laws of the state where the incident occurred?"

"Okay, okay, thank you, Professor Edward... Sure, sure, if there's any problem, I'll transfer the case to you..."

After hanging up, Barbara's excited smile appeared on her thin cheeks.

She first took a few sips of water from her tea cup, then gestured for the two eagerly awaiting individuals to sit down.

Then, in a cheerful tone, she said, "Ethan, I have a solution!"

This statement excited Ethan, "Oh, Professor Barbara, is there room for manoeuvre in this matter?"

"Of course!" Barbara nodded. "Not only is there room for manoeuvre, but I can even make it so that Motorola cannot sue."

'How?'

This fact widened Ethan's eyes. "How do we do it?"

The spontaneous inquiry made Barbara hum twice. She shifted her gaze to Evelyn.

"Oh, Evelyn, is Ethan the most favoured in your family?"

'?'

Ethan didn't understand why Barbara asked this.

Evelyn replied with a smile, "Oh yes, my dad likes him, probably more than he likes me."

"No wonder!" Barbara nodded slightly. "I was wondering how he could ask so naturally. You spoil him too much, that's not good."

"Well then, could you teach him?" Evelyn leaned over, hugging Barbara's arm.

Barbara found the coquettish gesture quite enjoyable. When she turned her gaze back to Ethan, she saw him awkwardly raising his hands, apologizing, "Barbara, I'm sorry for being in a hurry just now. If I offended you in any way, please forgive me."

Barbara laughed at Ethan's words, "That's more like it."

At the same time, she waved her hand, saying, "Alright, it was just a joke."

"Don't thank me, thank Evelyn. If she hadn't pulled out Vint, I wouldn't have called my teacher."

"You should know, that my teacher's consultation fee is the highest in the whole country. But even so, anyone who wants to consult him can fill the entire Pacific, because no matter the case, as long as you find him, you can basically get away with a misdemeanour or even be declared innocent."

"Oh..." Ethan opened his mouth, wanting to express gratitude but unsure of how to phrase it.

Because Barbara's teacher, as she mentioned, was a formidable figure in the American legal world.

The Washington Post had once been entangled in a lawsuit due to its coverage of the Pentagon Papers. The lawyer who brought it out of endless legal investigations was Barbara's teacher, Edward Williams. In response, the Pentagon angrily declared that he would deal with Edward Williams, but before they could take any action, he yielded to pressure and gave way to the Supreme Court decision

Ethan's speechless expression was also noticed by Evelyn. The girl shook Barbara's arm and playfully shouted, "Barbara!"

"Okay, okay, stop shaking." Evelyn's continuous interruptions made Barbara shake her head helplessly. "Alright, let's get to the point."

"Ethan, what you just said is correct. There are indeed legal loopholes in this matter, but it's not in the patent rights, it's in the trade secret protection law."

Under Barbara Babcock's explanation, Ethan and Evelyn Johnson understood the legal positioning of the MOS 6502 product, or in other words, they understood that patent infringement could be divided into infringement by patent inventors and infringement by others.

Patent inventor infringement referred to people like Chuck Peddle, who first invented the Motorola 6800 and then the MOS 6501.

Other people's infringement was similar to someone who had not participated in the invention of the Motorola 6800 but copied the product.

What's the difference between the two?

The latter was a straightforward infringement. Regardless of the purpose, the law would punish such behaviour.

But the former depended on the situation.

Because the infringement of a patent inventor involved issues of trade secret protection.

And when it came to trade secret protection, the biggest problem arose.

The current United States does not have a federal "Trade Secret Protection Act." The so-called trade secret protection was actually determined by each state. For example, in California's legal code, there was a provision that stated, 'Employees, after leaving the company, must protect the former employer's trade secrets and not disclose them to the new company.' According to this law, Chuck Peddle and his team's research on MOS 6501 would be considered industrial espionage. Even if MOS 6502 was modified, it would still involve industrial espionage.

Whether from the perspective of patent infringement or industrial espionage, Motorola could sue Chuck Peddle.

But—

When Chuck Peddle voluntarily informed Motorola of the infringement of MOS 6501 and the two sides reached a settlement, legally, it could be considered that Motorola had already learned of Chuck Peddle's espionage. In this situation, as long as Motorola did not explicitly state in the settlement agreement that Chuck Peddle and his team could not further develop MOS 6501, then Chuck Peddle's team could continue developing the CPU!

Of course, at this point, MOS 6502 was still infringing, but if Chuck Peddle moved MOS's operations to California or brought MOS 6502 to California for production and sales, this behaviour would be legal! Because California's laws not only protected company interests but also protected individual interests. In California's local laws, the "Business and Professions Code" had a provision: 'Any contract restricting anyone from engaging in a lawful profession is invalid. The law should encourage the flow of talent and the spread of ideas within the region, reduce redundant research time and effort between enterprises, and ensure the most efficient use of human capital, thereby enhancing the efficiency of business development in the California region.'

Therefore—

"Ethan, if what you said is true, and Chuck Peddle is the patent owner or a participant in the development of Motorola 6800, as long as they sell MOS 6502 in California, they will be protected by California law."

Barbara smiled at Ethan and said, "Chuck Peddle's previous compensation was fantastic because, according to California law, their actions amounted to reaching a settlement on the charge of espionage with Motorola. As long as the settlement document does not explicitly restrict the espionage behaviour, California's 'Business and Professions Code' will consider that Motorola allows them to further develop MOS 6501."

"Because this kind of development aligns with California's policy of encouraging talent mobility! It aligns with California's emphasis on reducing redundant research time and effort between enterprises! It aligns with California's philosophy of efficiently utilizing human capital!"

"So, as long as they bring the chip to California, even if Motorola wants to sue, California courts will not accept it!"

"Of course, this loophole only applies to patent inventors or participants. Others are not allowed!"

'WTF???'

Ethan was shocked!

He never expected that California had such absurd laws, reducing the cost of redundant research between companies and allowing patent inventors to self-plagiarize.

Damn!

Do capitalists have no shame?

Ethan couldn't comprehend it.

But he was deeply shocked!

TL Note:

In 1971, during the Vietnam War, a former military analyst named Daniel Ellsberg leaked a top-secret government report known as the Pentagon Papers to The New York Times and The Washington Post. These papers contained a detailed history of the U.S. involvement in Vietnam, including information that was highly critical of government decisions.

President Richard Nixon attempted to prevent the newspapers from publishing the classified information, claiming executive authority to maintain secrecy. The question before the Supreme Court was whether the constitutional freedom of the press, guaranteed by the First Amendment, was subordinate to the government's need for secrecy.

On June 30, 1971, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the newspapers. The decision held that the government could not impose prior restraint (i.e., censorship before publication) on news articles. The Court emphasized that any attempt to block publication must bear a heavy burden of presumption against its constitutionality.

This ruling allowed The New York Times and The Washington Post to publish the Pentagon Papers without fear of government censorship or punishment. It was a significant victory for press freedom and the First Amendment right to freedom of the press

The latest U.S. trade secret protection law was signed in 2016, called the "Defend Trade Secrets Act" (DTSA). Before that, the federal law was the "Uniform Trade Secrets Act" published in 1979.

California's "Business and Professions Code" was first established in 1915. The code contains clauses supporting patentees to make minor innovations to patents they don't own, and over the years, this code has been seen as the true reason for Silicon Valley's birth. To promote this idea, in 2021, President Joe Biden signed the "Executive Order on Promoting U.S. Economic Competition," emphasizing support for talent mobility, which is consistent with the "Business and Professions Code."

The methods described in the text have real-world examples. The first example is Apple's lawsuit against Google, emphasizing Android's plagiarism. In the early 1990s, Android's father, Andy Rubin, worked in a subsidiary of Apple and created the earliest smartphone system, which failed because it was too advanced, and the patents remained with Apple. Later, he developed Android and sold it to Google. In this case, Steve Jobs repeatedly claimed that Andy Rubin was plagiarizing, but the court ultimately did not accept it because California allows this kind of minor innovation. The second example is the recently concluded Oracle's lawsuit against Google for Java plagiarism. In this decade-long case, Google's defence was the same throughout: they didn't plagiarize; they just provided jobs for Java developers. Because Java was developed by SUN, as mentioned earlier, SUN's engineers were packaged into Google by Stanford. The final result, well, the Supreme Court thought it was fair use