RE: Robert Noyce as inventor of IC.
Fairchild (and later Intel) practice under Moore and Noyce was
to invent and rush new products to market without paying much
attention to protecting IP. As a result, conventional history will
credit Jack Kilby (of Texas Instruments) with the invention of the
IC. There is no greater contrast in style of invention than to
compare the patents of Kilby (incredibly rich, seminal, and inventive) to those of Noyce, Moore, and Grove (rather sparse, and did our Gordon Moore actually invent a couple of bunghole pump enhancements?). I, for one, think the world would work much better if we freely shared our inventions, but the world thinks differently. I like Moore-Noyce
style in this, but, as an owner of the company, appreciate the
patents that Intel has won. If Noyce had patented the integrated
circuit and assigned the patent to Fairchild Semiconductor, Intel could hardly have been born. Everything is for the best in this best of all possible worlds! |
