[luriel]

> One reason it's common for GPU makers to be secretive is that there is a very big risk that GPUs and their drivers violate patents, and the makers of these products want to make it as difficult as possible to ascertain whether patents are being violated. They won't even broach the topic because that would draw them in to willful infringement.

This is another example of how patents are directly counterproductive to their originally intended goal of encouraging open innovation. Patents are not just creating a minefield, but are encouraging everyone to be more secretive at the same time.