Lock-out chip
Encyclopedia
In a general sense, a lockout chip is a chip within an electronic
device to prevent other manufacturers from using a company's device to perform certain functions.
The most famous example is the lockout chip found in Nintendo's Nintendo Entertainment System
, known also as the CIC (see also 10NES
), designed to prevent "unlicensed" manufacturers from creating games for the console
. The presence of the chip forced unlicensed companies to raise the price of each cartridge (due to a bypass chip having to be added to the cartridge), and allowed Nintendo a foothold for a lawsuit.
Electronics
Electronics is the branch of science, engineering and technology that deals with electrical circuits involving active electrical components such as vacuum tubes, transistors, diodes and integrated circuits, and associated passive interconnection technologies...
device to prevent other manufacturers from using a company's device to perform certain functions.
The most famous example is the lockout chip found in Nintendo's Nintendo Entertainment System
Nintendo Entertainment System
The Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America during 1985, in Europe during 1986 and Australia in 1987...
, known also as the CIC (see also 10NES
10NES
The 10NES system is a lock-out system designed for the American version of the Nintendo Entertainment System video game console. Various companies found ways to bypass the authorization chip.-Design:...
), designed to prevent "unlicensed" manufacturers from creating games for the console
Video game console
A video game console is an interactive entertainment computer or customized computer system that produces a video display signal which can be used with a display device to display a video game...
. The presence of the chip forced unlicensed companies to raise the price of each cartridge (due to a bypass chip having to be added to the cartridge), and allowed Nintendo a foothold for a lawsuit.
See also
- Vendor lock-inVendor lock-inIn economics, vendor lock-in, also known as proprietary lock-in or customer lock-in, makes a customer dependent on a vendor for products and services, unable to use another vendor without substantial switching costs...
- DongleDongleA software protection dongle is a small piece of hardware that plugs into an electrical connector on a computer and serves as an electronic "key" for a piece of software; the program will only run when the dongle is plugged in...
- Lexmark Int'l v. Static Control ComponentsLexmark Int'l v. Static Control ComponentsLexmark International, Inc. v. Static Control Components, Inc., 387 F.3d 522 , was an American legal case involving the computer printer company Lexmark, which had designed an authentication system using a microcontroller so that only authorized toner cartridges could be used...
, a U.S. Sixth Circuit case rejecting copyright-related claims in lockout chips