said by bbinabox:The payment resolves assertions by Hughes, the world's largest satellite maker, that from 1963 to 1982 the Government used the company's proprietary technology without permission.Source: »
www.nytimes.com/1999/04/ ··· ent.html (this is regarding the feds paying them over $154 Million due to a using their proprietary technology which they had a patent on!!!)
If your definition of "proprietary" is patented inventions then you must know that ALL satellite technology, including yours, is or once was proprietary.
You chose to go back into a time when HEC was IT in the manufacture and deployment of satellites! The remnants of that part of the company is now owned by Boeing Space (manufacture) and Intelsat (deployment/ownership), and they are responsible for a great deal of the hardware that is up there. Yes, I know, AMC15 which you and I both use was built by Lockheed, but it uses a lot of that same "proprietary" stuff that is no longer under patent!
The current company named Hughes has virtually nothing in common with HEC except the first word in the name.