MrDish2000 lets us know that according to sources, MediaTek may stop offering the source code of its latest DVD±RW Dual chipsets to optical storage drive manufacturers. The Taiwanese company has done this to avoid leaking the source code to rivals such as VIA Technologies and the ALi Corporation.
The Chinese-language newspaper quoted sources from several Taiwan-based optical storage drive manufacturers as saying that Mediatek had sent samples of its latest DVD-Dual chipsets to clients without offering source code or complete documentation. The company is said to have only offered object code, which provides minimal flexibility to modify the program. |
Sources suspect that Mediatek may be reminded by its patent infringement suit filed last June against VIA and AOpen of the dangers of disclosing source code. Mediatek clients BenQ, Behavior Tech Computer (BTC), AOpen, and EPO Science and Technology were reportedly under investigation for pirating code developed by Mediatek for its CD-R60 chipsets.
By not offering the source code with their chipsets, MediaTek may risk loosing existing clients. Luckily Lite-On has already said they will continue using Mediatek's DVD-Dual chipsets.
Source: DigiTimes
