the 86-DOS operating system, SCP attempted to sell it along with a stand-alone inexpensive CPU (without any other circuitry). This was allowed as per SCP's license with Microsoft, which let SCP sell the operating system with their 8086-based computers; this operating system was marketed as "Seattle DOS", and a CPU was included in the box it shipped in. Thanks to the deal with Microsoft, additional capital allowed Seattle Computer to expand its memory business into providing additional memory for PC products. The company had its best year in 1982, reaping more than a million dollars in profit on about in sales. By 1985, however, SCP's business was having difficulty trying to compete with offshore products (Brock once said, "they were selling memory boards for less than his cost for parts"), and Brock decided to sell the company. The only major asset SCP had left was the license it received from Microsoft when it signed over ownership rights to 86-DOS. Brock planned to sell (via merger) the license to the highest bidder, with a company such as the Tandy Corporation in mind. After Microsoft objected to Brock's "exaggerated interpretation" of the agreement and informed Brock that his license was nontransferable, Brock sued for . The ensuing lawsuit was highly technical and grew to fill hundreds of pages in the months leading up to trial. The trial began at the end of 1986 and lasted three weeks. An out-of-court settlement was reached while the jury was deliberating. Microsoft paid SCP and reclaimed its license for DOS. SCP went out of business in the late 1980s as the market for Intel 8086 systems became dominated by PC compatible computers. See also Microsoft Softcard (SCP developed prototypes of Z80 card for Apple II, further developed by Burtronix and manufactured by California Computer Systems for Microsoft) Pirates of Silicon Valley has a scene where Paul Allen visits Rod Brock at Seattle Computer Products. References External links Electronics companies of the United States Defunct computer companies of the United States Defunct computer hardware companies Defunct companies based in Seattle 1970s establishments in Washington (state) 1980s disestablishments in Washington (state) Companies based in Tukwila, Washington