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If you've been following the saga of Commodore and its Amiga computer over the decades, then you'll be aware it's a right old mess, as the rights to the company's IP were carved up when it went bust back in the '90s.
However, a pair of new deals have just been inked which could help unify the world of Commodore, despite the fact that there are still multiple companies involved.
Commodore International – the 'revived' version of the business headed up by Christian Simpson – will be licensing "software and documentation for Commodore's 8-bit computers" from Amiga Corporation, the firm which holds the rights to "source code and binaries for CBM 8-bit and Amiga software and firmware, hardware designs, manufacturing data, documentation, marketing assets, and other materials," as well as Amiga trademarks.
Via this arrangement, Amiga Corporation says that it now "recognises" the ownership of Commodore International and will license "CBM 8-bit software and documentation to Commodore for use in its products."
The statement adds:
"Following the 1996 liquidation of Escom, one of Amiga's predecessors in interest, the "Commodore" and "C=" trademarks followed a separate path from the other assets. Tulip Computers acquired the trademarks and used them for Commodore-branded PCs. Subsequent transfers brought the trademarks to the present Commodore company. In the agreement, Amiga recognizes this ownership. The copyrights in the historical software, documentation, and other Commodore and Amiga works remained in the chain of title now continued by Amiga. Under the same agreement, Amiga licenses CBM 8-bit software and documentation to Commodore for use in its products.
Amiga retains the right to use and reproduce the Commodore marks in historical and descriptive contexts, including as they appear in original software, documentation, notices, keyboard symbols, on-screen texts, and other content.
Amiga is permitted to continue using the Commodore trademarks in a 'historical or descriptive context,' such as old documentation, copyright notices in existing software, or as symbols on a keyboard."
The second agreement is with Hyperion, which works with AmigaOS. "Hyperion Entertainment will continue to develop and distribute AmigaOS 4 under license from Amiga," says the statement. "The rights in the independently developed AmigaOS 4 code have never been disputed, and the new agreement preserves that position while clearly defining the Amiga software and trademarks licensed for continued AmigaOS 4 development and commercialization."
According to Amiga Corporation, "the circle is closing" on the Amiga story forty-two years after Commodore and Amiga joined forces in 1984, when Commodore purchased the Amiga Corporation for $24 million from its creators, Jay Miner, RJ Mical, and Dale Luck. "Apart from the 'Commodore' and 'C=' marks, the principal rights and assets of the Commodore and Amiga eras rest with Amiga," adds the statement.
In the short term, it would seem the agreement with Commodore International paves the way for the company to produce a reproduction of the Amiga home computer to go alongside its FPGA-based C64 Ultimate.