> In that speech [Andy Grove] decried the U.S. patent system, explaining that in the early days of the transistor there was much more cross-licensing of patents

> In that speech [Andy Grove] decried the U.S. patent system, explaining that in the early days of the transistor there was much more cross-licensing of patents and a greater spirit of companies building upon the same technologies -- even among fierce competitors. At the time, however, the largest consumer of electronics was the U.S. government. They required second-sourcing of just about every electronic component they purchased. Intel had to share its technology to get that business. Do you think Intel would have licensed x86 to AMD otherwise? Once Intel got powerful enough they tried to go back on that deal, but the courts ruled for AMD. Even back then it was about money.