During Barbara's silence, Ethan couldn't help but think about the deeper issues behind the patent.
If someone like him tried to hide behind the excuse of "protecting scientific research" just to secure vested interests in the MOS 6502, then true scientists would always enjoy stronger—if not artificially enhanced—legal protection long before him.
So—Ethan took a deep breath and smiled. "Infringement? Fine."
Now that the matter was settled, he was no longer angry.
Not because he was particularly broad-minded, but because he knew there was no point in staying mad. The real priority was finding a solution. Of course, one last doubt still lingered in his mind.
"Prof. Barbara, can you help me with one more question?"
"Go ahead." Barbara opened her eyes and answered readily. "If I have the channels, I'll definitely look into it for you. This whole thing happened because of my own lack of knowledge, and I'll do my best to make up for it."
"Oh, Barbara, don't say such meaningless things." Ethan smiled and shook his head. "We're the ones who've been troubling you all this time. You've already helped us so much—we should be thanking you."
Before he could finish, Evelyn leaned in, wrapped her arms around Barbara, and hugged her like a little koala.
Holding the girl's waist and gently stroking her back, Barbara sighed.
"Thank you."
Then she raised her eyebrows at Ethan, giving him the signal to continue. Ethan nodded and finally voiced what had been weighing on his mind.
"Prof. Barbara, if Magnavox's patent is really this strong, then why did they waste so much time chasing after Pong? After all, Pong also used a TV screen to generate, display, manipulate, and use symbols or geometric figures.
If Magnavox can use this patent to sue us, why couldn't they use the exact same patent to sue Atari right from the start?"
That was it. Ethan's biggest question. If Ralph Baer's patent was truly so formidable, then why was Atari still alive? Why hadn't Magnavox crushed them immediately? Wouldn't that have been the clearest way to prove the patent's strength to the whole world?
At his words, Barbara only smiled. She pointed to the copy of the patent lying on the table, signaling for Ethan to take a closer look himself.
After flipping it open, Barbara prompted, "Turn to the section listing the patent rights. What do you see?"
Ethan scanned it quickly, then frowned. "Patent effective date: April 17, 1973. Inventor: Ralph Henry Baer. Patent owner: Sanders Associates?"
"Exactly."
Barbara gave a bitter smile and shook her head.
"That's the very question that puzzled me too. I thought there might be a loophole there, so I asked some people at the Patent Office. And they confirmed—this patent doesn't actually belong to Magnavox at all. It belongs to a company called Sanders."
"Because when Ralph Baer invented the 'Brown Box'—the predecessor of the Magnavox Odyssey—he was working as Sanders' technical director. The entire R&D process was funded by Sanders as well. So when the patent was registered, the ownership column had to be filled in with Sanders' name, in accordance with R&D regulations.
Magnavox, at the beginning, only obtained the rights to produce, sell, and market the 'Brown Box.' Later, based on those rights, they filed a series of follow-up patent applications—for example, on the name...…the appearance, internal technology, and circuitry of the Odyssey console. Their patents are for specific products."
So, when Atari started plagiarizing in 1973, Magnavox couldn't directly sue based on its own product patents. From the perspective of product protection alone, the arcade machine Pong did not infringe on the rights of the Magnavox Odyssey home console.
At first, Magnavox never considered obtaining those broader patent licenses from Sanders. It wasn't until the arcade industry grew more and more prosperous that they decided to defend their rights aggressively. Only then did they negotiate with Sanders, obtain all the patents, and agree to pay Sanders a licensing fee going forward.
Fine. Ethan was convinced by this explanation. When so many coincidences pile up together, it really is outrageous
"Okay, okay, I get it." Ethan nodded. "If that's the case, then we admit defeat."
So many unexpected events happening all at once—this was really… MFxxk!
After cursing, Ethan naturally wanted to know what to do next. He had no desire to go through litigation if it could be avoided. If an out-of-court settlement was possible, then all the better—because lawsuits were nothing but trouble.
But when Ethan voiced this thought, Barbara explained that the matter might not be resolved so quickly.
The United States has a complete litigation process. After a defendant receives the indictment, they must submit a defense within a fixed period of time. In California, this period is thirty days. Only then does the next stage begin, called evidence disclosure.
At that stage, lawyers from both sides exchange the evidence they've collected. Once all the evidence is on the table, the essence of the case is usually clear.
To save judicial resources, courts actually encourage reconciliation. Therefore, after the disclosure stage, both parties can decide whether to enter settlement negotiations or proceed with litigation. If the defendant meets all of the plaintiff's demands, the court will almost never hold a hearing—the case will end in settlement. If the case is invalid and mediation fails, then it will move to a full trial.
Of course, if Magnavox's own in-house lawyers were in charge, their primary goal would definitely be money. The more compensation the company receives, the more secure their standing within the company, and the more business commissions they'll attract. After all, the biggest function of a patent that can choke an entire industry is… to generate revenue.
But outside law firms? They're also chasing money—but not in the form of compensation. Instead, they're eyeing the hefty legal fees Magnavox has promised them.
Barbara continued: "In the complaint, Magnavox is demanding that you pay one million dollars in compensation and immediately cease infringement.
The first demand is basically all of the revenue you earned from Snake Game, right? The second is an order to stop selling Snake Game in the United States—or, in other words, you can no longer use standard television as the medium for sale.
The first one is relatively simple. The second one? I know without asking that you won't accept it.
So Ethan, I have to say this again: please think carefully about whether you offended Magnavox somehow. Because under normal circumstances, when patent infringement occurs, the first thing a commercial company does is demand that the infringer stop. Only if they refuse do they proceed to litigation. Usually, company lawyers handle such matters directly—outside law firms are rarely brought in.
Oh, and one more thing. Atari is also technically an infringing party. But why isn't their name listed on this indictment? You need to pay close attention to this. Because if two separate cases are filed… that's the worst possible outcome.
Because the compensation you may have to pay might not just be one million—it could be more.
Barbara's words made Ethan frown. He truly couldn't understand how he had offended Magnavox. Was it because he demanded the highest severance when he was fired in the beginning?
Or because he once sent Nolan Bushnell an invitation to see the Odyssey?
If Magnavox had gone on the offensive because of those things, then he was utterly speechless! The first was simply defending his own legal rights, while the second… had absolutely nothing to do with him!
After thinking it over for a while, Ethan still couldn't figure out the reason.
Seeing it was getting late, Barbara suggested they go home and think it through slowly. "After all, the defense could be submitted within thirty days. In other words, as long as they clarified the problem before October 15th, they might be able to drag the case into settlement. Otherwise… they could only pray to God that Magnavox wouldn't offer "performance rewards" to the law firms. For example: how much money a lawyer could earn if they forced Ethan Jones to stop selling Snake Game in the United States.
Because such a clause would make those lawyers circle them like vultures."
......
At eight o'clock that night, the brand-new Dino 246 GTS parked in front of Evelyn's house. The red, streamlined body reflected a faint pink glow under the moonlight—soft and gentle.
Ethan, still sitting in the car, looked apologetically at Evelyn.
"I'm sorry… this is my problem. I'll try to find out the reason."
"Okay~" Evelyn waved her hand lightly. "What did you tell Barbara before? That she shouldn't take responsibility, right? Well, I'll give that line back to you now. Don't take responsibility either, because this wasn't caused by you.
I made Snake Game. I drew the circuit diagrams. I know exactly how outrageous this patent is. But there's nothing we can do, right?
Mr. Vinton said that Professor Ralph Baer may not be as famous as President Fred Terman, but everyone in scientific research knows how terrifying his inventive ability is.
The Federal Patent Office may not understand the technology, but they do understand connections. So our failure is normal. It's not their ignorance—it's our powerlessness.
Just… think of it as paying tuition money for a lesson learned."
Evelyn unbuckled her seatbelt, opened her arms, and smiled. "A hug?"
Her words made Ethan laugh, and without hesitation, he leaned in to embrace her.
"Thanks," he whispered. However, just as Ethan was about to accept his bad luck and resign himself to losing most of the profits from Snake Game, the sharp, rapid ringing of the telephone pierced through the night.
The moment he stepped into the house and picked it up, a furious roar blasted through the receiver—
"Ethan Jones!!! Where the hell have you been?!
I've been calling you all day and no one answered!!! Your Snake Game is an infringing product??? Oh! Sxxt! Magnavox's indictment just landed on my desk!!!
At the same time, they also sued Midway Games and Chicago Coin!!! Dxxm it! Do you know how much money your behavior is going to cost us?!
You'd better explain this to me clearly! I'm at the company right now! Get over here immediately!!!"
followed by the sudden busy tone, made Ethan shake his head in disbelief.
Shaking the copy of the indictment in his hand, he studied it carefully and confirmed—Atari's name was indeed missing from the defendant's column.
"Okay… worst-case scenario."
Ethan sighed, remembering exactly what Barbara had just said.