Enthusiasts of retro systems settled The question for the source texts of the operating system cp/m , which in the seventies of the last century dominated computers with eight -bit processors i8080 and Z80. In 2001, the CP/M code was transferred to the community cpm.z80.de Lineo Inc, into which the company’s intellectual property was transferred digital Research , engaged in the development of CP/m. The license for the transmitted code allowed the use, distribution and change, but with a note that this right is granted to the community, developers and accompanying from the site CPM.Z80.de.
Due to this mark, developers of projects related to CP/m, such as the distribution cp/mish , were not dared to use the original code CP/M, fearing a license violation. One of the enthusiasts interested in the CP/M code wrote to Bryan Sparks, President of Lineo Inc and Drdos Inc, a letter with a request to clarify what was meant when mentioning a separate site in the license.
Brian explained that he initially did not intend to transmit the code only to one site and the postscript only mentioned a separate particular case. Brian also gave an official explanation in which on behalf of a company that owns intellectual property on CP/M, he indicated that the conditions certain in license are applicable to everyone. Thus, the text of the license has become similar in essence of the open license MIT. The initial texts of CP/M are written in the language pl/m and assembler. To familiarize yourself with the system is available emulator , working in the Web browser.