Canon bans Viltrox lens

sybersitizen wrote:

NanoCam wrote:

I just read that Canon has forbidden Viltrox from producing a lens (85/1.8 and maybe others?)

I assume you read this:

https://www.dpreview.com/news/3875526045/viltrox-representative-reports-canon-told-them-to-stop-selling-all-rf-mount-products

I don't think it's possible for camera companies to 'ban' an entity from making lenses. Nothing restricts anyone from making products that are compatible with the physical mounts.

You see, there are these things called patents.

You get one, and you have exclusive used of that material for "a while"

I am sure one or more parts of RF are patented. Thus Canon has say on who can mount to what.

Just one more reason to stay away from mirrorless (where the patents won't run out for decades.)

Camera companies can withhold proprietary communication protocol information from entities that don't pay a licensing fee, but that's something different. Sigma was notorious for failing to properly license the communication protocols for the A-mount system, but just reverse-engineered them instead (which led to a number of compatibility issues).

As far as I know, the question of the legality of Sigma's reverse-engineering was never tested. If Viltrox is now doing what Sigma did, Canon may be inviting a legal battle that the much smaller company can't afford to fight.

The situation is different between Company secret (communications protocol) and patented. Company secret can be reverse engineered (to the 98% level). But patents are granted exclusive use to assigned company.