I think you're addressing your engine by a road number, which is only stored in the Legacy base/remote. Each engine has an internal TMCC address ranging from 1-99 (referred to as a "Traditional ID #" in the Legacy manual).
You should see that # above the "ENG" box on the Legacy remote if you press the INFO button once or twice.
People have strange ideas about patents sometimes. I was once being interviewed on a radio show about gene patents. A caller asked: if Monsanto were to inject patented DNA into me, would Monsanto then own me? Ok then....