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If the current course continues this seems likely to lead to a bifurcation of the Arm ecosystem - presumably with Arm customers outside of China competing with
by klelatti 5y ago
If the current course continues this seems likely to lead to a bifurcation of the Arm ecosystem - presumably with Arm customers outside of China competing with incompatible products exported from China based on Arm China designs.
I don't have any insight into the quality of the Arm China team but isn't one possible outcome that there is strong competition between the two ecosystems. So we could be in an Arms race (sorry!)
- cm2187 5y agoIANAL but I would assume they would infringe many Arm patents if sold outside of China.
- klelatti 5y agoPresumably Arm China would claim all legal and licensed to Arm China under Chinese law?
- jaywalk 5y agoThat's fine within China, but you specifically mentioned exports. They aren't exporting this stuff to any country outside of a small handful.
- klelatti 5y agoArm China is presumably licensing to Chinese SoC designers / manufacturers whose products are then included in devices that are exported.
- kelnos 5y agoThey could try that, sure, but the "real" Arm would likely sue to stop imports at as many destinations as possible. And they'd probably win those court cases.
- klelatti 5y agoAs I've said elsewhere: These are not counterfeit goods though. Where has the law been broken in a way that gives Arm the power to act? Probably IP licensed under Chinese law and Arm China will probably get its way in Chinese courts.
- mahkeiro 5y agoThey may be and ARM Uk will probably get its way in court outside of China.
- dylan522p 5y agoAuthor here. They specifically said they are not working with foreign companies. While they have exclusive rights to arm architecture in china, they cannot do anything outside china.
- monocasa 5y agoYou can put your hands on Zhaoxin boards in the west despite those also ostensibly being China only as well. And software bifurcation is the real problem, and would be handled at layer not exclusive to China.
- dylan522p 5y agoChips themselves can be sold, yes. The IP cannot be licensed to non Chinese based semi firms.
- jhgb 5y ago"Chips themselves can be sold, yes" How would even that be possible? Surely ARM's laywers are not interested in ripoff products being sold in the West.
- dylan522p 5y agoArm does not manufacture chips. They license IP for per chip or blanket fees. The model of many of these licenses is irrevocable. I've seen a couple different Arm licensing contracts and they're all very different so hard to make blanket statements. The Chinese entity has the right to license to all Chinese semiconductor firms who have the right to sell their chips.
- jhgb 5y agoI'm aware of how ARM operates. I just find it incredible that ARM would allow some entity to license its designs contrary to ARM's own intentions, or generally do anything that entity wanted to do with them, and ARM would just consent to it in places where law is enforced. I mean, shredding counterfeit imported goods has been a traditional pastime in the west.
- a9h74j 5y agoAlternate title: When one arm doesn't know what the other arm is doing.