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In a general sense, a lockout chip is a chip within an electronic device to prevent other manufacturers from using a company's device to perform certain functions.
A notable example is the lockout chip found in Nintendo's Nintendo Entertainment System (called 10NES), designed to prevent "unlicensed" manufacturers from creating games for the console.[1] The presence of the chip forced unlicensed companies to raise the price of each cartridge (due to a bypass chip having to be added to the cartridge), and allowed Nintendo a foothold for a lawsuit.
Lockout functions are commonly used in printers to prevent the use of third-party ink or toner cartridges.[2]
See also
edit- Regional lockout
- CIC (Nintendo)
- Vendor lock-in
- Software protection dongle
- Lexmark International, Inc. v. Static Control Components, Inc., a U.S. Sixth Circuit case rejecting copyright-related claims in lockout chips
References
edit- ^ Herkewitz, William (2020-05-03). "Cracking the Chip: How Hacking the NES Made It Even Better". Popular Mechanics. Retrieved 2022-05-30.
- ^ "Printer Cartridge Debacle Forces Canon to Tell Users How to Break DRM". Gizmodo. 2022-01-10. Retrieved 2022-05-30.
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