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Logically this implies that I can't execute some i386 binary that I possess without infringing Intel patents.

I think this theory of infringement has to run into various thought-experiment problems such as : can I auto-translate that binary into some other instruction set, then execute the translated binary, without infringing Intel patents? (yes, surely) Is the translator now infringing Intel patents because it has to understand their ISA? (no, surely).

Now, can I incorporate that translator into my OS such that it can now execute i386 binaries by translating them to my new instruction set which I can execute either directly or by emulation? If so then I am now not infringing. Or did infringement suddenly manifest because I combined two non-infringing things (translator + emulator for my own translated ISA)?



If you execute your i386 binary on an Intel, AMD, or other licensed processor, then you're protected by the doctrine of exhaustion:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exhaustion_of_intellectual_pro...

If you execute it in an emulator, though, all bets are off...


Here's an insane idea--what if every Win10 ARM laptop also included a Pentium 4 or Athlon XP chip (from a junked PC) glued inside the case? Would the x86 patent rights from that chip cover an emulator running on the ARM?

(I'm pretty sure it's a no, but an Aereo-esque lawsuit arguing the opposite would be fun to watch)


No more than wearing an Intel t-shirt would give you rights to all their patents.


But I'm not executing it on an i386 emulator.




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