Ep 202 — From Atari to NVIDIA: We Don’t Care, We Don’t Have To!

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Summary <p>Andrew flies solo on today’s show, which… <em>coincidentally</em> features a bunch of law from the 1980s. Learn how a 1981 advertisement for a soon-to-be defunct video game system shaped the law of copyright into what it is today after <a href="https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=16433139020722034724" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Atari sued Magnavox</a> to pull a Pac-Man clone off the shelves.</p><p><br></p><p>In the second story, we talk about the death of antitrust law. What once broke up the phone company’s monopoly is now so defanged that just two companies control almost all of the components that go into your PC. Oh, and the phone company basically reassembled itself.</p><p><br></p><p>The computer graphics monopoly set us on the path where computer are rented, not owned. And taking advantage of that was a company that targeted teenagers who want the latest and greatest gaming rig (but can’t afford it). Learn about the <a href="https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.cand.454102/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">consumer fraud lawsuit</a>, potential settlement, and the future of computers. Have we gone backwards since the 1980s? (Yes.)</p><p><br></p><p>Check out the independent reporting of Steve Burke at <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@GamersNexus" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">GamersNexus</a>.</p><p><br></p><p>Atari, Inc. v. North American Philips Consumer Electronics Corp., 672 F.2d 607 (1982)</p><p><a href="https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=16433139020722034724" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=16433139020722034724</a></p><p><br></p><p>Burns v. Fragile, Inc. [docket via CourtListener]</p><p><a href="https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.cand.454102/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.cand.454102/</a></p><p><br></p><p>Steve Burke, GamersNexus YouTube channel</p><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/@GamersNexus" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/@GamersNexus</a></p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p>Show Links:</p><p><a href="https://www.lawandchaospod.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.lawandchaospod.com/</a></p><p>BlueSky: @LawAndChaosPod</p><p>Threads: @LawAndChaosPod</p><p>Twitter: @LawAndChaosPod</p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p>See Privacy Policy at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://art19.com/privacy</a> and California Privacy Notice at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info</a>.</p>

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