Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1999/01/12
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Hi Peter, Marc usually chimes in with the answer to this one. I guess I'm either saving him the trouble or crowding his turf! Leica's patents on the M mount expired in 1973 (LTM in '51 and R bayonet around '83---did I get that right?). Anyone who wants to make an M-mount body can, and there's no need to license the design from Leica. That the only non-Leica M-mount body produced and sold since the patents expired was the Minolta CLE tells us something about the perceived size and profit potential of the market. Best, PB On Tue, 12 Jan 1999 14:40:47 +0100 (MET), Peter Niessen <niessen@ifh.de> wrote: >I'm referring to the non Leica M mount camera topic. Is there really a >real chance for other companies to produce an M mount camera? > > Scenario 1: A company produces an M mount camera. Leica says: >no good, you used our patents -> Leica wins > > Scenario 2: Like IBM with the PC, Leica licenses its M >bayonet. M6 sales plunge, Leica goes bancrupt. -> Leica looses. > >>From this point of view, I think any talk about M bayonet compatible >PCs, eh, cameras are not in sight. Paul C. Brodek Kobe, Japan pcb@iac.co.jp