Seems those US manufacturers of guaranteed litigation-proof IBM-compatible BIOSs led by Phoenix Technologies Ltd, Norwood, Massachusetts, are doing a roaring trade in Japan as manufacturers terrorised by the threat of software copyright disputes with IBM seek a means to duck under the wire: Nikkei Sangoo reports that six companies, NEC Corp, Sharp Corp and Canon Inc among them, have signed for the Phoenix BIOS through its Japanese agent Soft Bank Research Center, while another four companies have signed contracts with a second US BIOS maker, Award, through its agent Kanematsu Semiconductor, and two more are negotiating; there are now some 30 IBM Personalike makers in Japan, including companies such as Toshiba, Seiko Epson, which do their own in-house development, but are still buying in a safe BIOS.
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