PUBLIC MARKS with tags games & patents

"[Editor's Note: This article originated when the Gamasutra editors noticed a number of online sources such as Wikipedia stating that it was now completely legal to make NES 'clone' consoles, because all of Nintendo's patents regarding the NES had expired. How true was this statement? We asked game IP lawyer S. Gregory Boyd the question: "Are the NES patents expired? If so, is a company free to build and sell new NES-like systems?" Here's his response.]"