As we recently reported here, Intel has decided to refuse to licence its new Centrino technology, allowing the brand name only to be used for an Intel processor combined with an Intel chipset. This type of move is obviously aimed at preventing 3rd party manufacturers from capitalizing on Intel's own marketing efforts or being able to use the Centrino brand-name. While it may be a great way to boost short-term profits, it's a downright stupid way to deal with long-term competition.
Then again, Intel's habit of competing with itself has always defied logic. On the one hand, the company happily sells processors to third party manufacturers, but on the other it does everything it can to keep these companies from effectively selling CPUs. Every CPU, after all, has to have a chipset, and Intel wants all the CPU's and all the chipsets to be its own. Obviously the smart thing to do here is cut out the third party vendors, licence them to death, and deny them access to as much Intel technology as possible, right?
Maybe in the short term, yes, but the last twenty years are full of examples where one company's attempts to seize control of a market by license or fiat ultimately fails. Apple lost its significant share of the computer industry when it failed to allow 3rd party vendors to sell its equipment. IBM ultimately lost control of the PC that it invented as part of its multi-billion-dollar empire before Compaq and Dell even incorporated. 3dfx's decision to cut their third party vendors out of the picture ultimately led to that company's ultimate decline, and Rambus' attempts to force the industry to license their own technology have thus far ended in failure and disgrace for the once high-flying IP company. Now, if Rambus stock jumps to $12, it's big news. That's better than $4—but it's a far cry from the $500 or so the stock once held. Although the Rambus situation continues to bounce back and forth through the US court system (while the legal beagles clean up), the overall trend is clear—the IT industry tends not to favor tight licencing restrictions, heavy patent fees, or companies that seek to dominant a market through proprietary technology.
--By Jack Russell, source: The Inquirer
Article can be read here.
