-16MHz
MOS Technology licensed
Rockwell and
Synertek to second-source the
6502 microprocessor and its support components.
Intel licensed
AMD to second-source Intel microprocessors such as the
8086 and its related support components. This second-source agreement is particularly famous for leading to much
litigation between the two parties. The agreement gave AMD the rights to second-source later Intel parts, but Intel refused to provide the
masks for the
386 to AMD. AMD
reverse-engineered the 386, and Intel then claimed that AMD's license to the 386
microcode only allowed AMD to "use" the microcode but not to sell products incorporating it. The courts eventually decided in favor of AMD. When
Digital Equipment Corporation released
DEC Alpha in 1992, an industry analyst said that a second source for the CPU was necessary for credibility as an
open system. == See also ==