X/Z color demodulation.

[old_tv_nut]

Originally Posted by wa2ise

What they did do was invent their own patents that improved or made cheaper color TV sets, and after a while RCA, Zenith and others would cross license. Imagine something like a poker game where RCA would lay on the table a patent, Zenith would counter with one of their patents, and so on. "I'll license you if you license me..."

Exactly - two companies would go to court, each with a stack of patents, and they would first argue which were irrelevant and would be thrown out of the contest, and then compare stacks to see who ended up with something that the other company had nothing to trade for.