3 ms·

If you want to share designs, but you want reciprocity and you want to retain some control, then I wouldn't bother with "licenses" as we have them in the softwa

If you want to share designs, but you want reciprocity and you want to retain some control, then I wouldn't bother with "licenses" as we have them in the software world - as in "I drop this here, stick a license on it, and someone can grab it and use it under these terms, without ever talking to me". Rather, offer people the option to sign a little contract in order to use it. Keep the barrier as low as possible, an email exchange should be enough. I feel in the hardware world the barriers are already pretty high and people want to know your detailed business plan, your mother's maiden name and a couple of references before they even share a data sheet. You just want to have an address and make sure they know what they are agreeing to. Keeping honest people honest and so on. If "the Chinese" want to clone your product, then you are often out of luck anyway. Although that is not entirely true anymore, my previous company fought in China against clones and IP theft a couple times and won. But you need to have a local presence, a local subsidary that can hire lawyers etc.. If you are just outsourcing production to third parties then it gets problematic.

jstanley 4y ago
That's fine for serious business endeavours, but absolutely kills one-man-band experimentation at the margin, which is the only interesting bit in the first place.
treesciencebot 4y ago
> If "the Chinese" want to clone your product, then you are often out of luck anyway. Although that is not entirely true anymore, my previous company fought in China against clones and IP theft a couple times and won. But you need to have a local presence, a local subsidary that can hire lawyers etc.. If you are just outsourcing production to third parties then it gets problematic. This is the take I think people are missing. If you are in a spot where "the Chinese" or any other company can cut you out, then I'm in the box that you are producing anything unique. Which was/is not true for Prusa, since even though there are clones that can be had by 1/4th of the price; people sure trust the name of Prusa to order directly from them. This is why they are the most sold printer of all time, their name is a mark of quality. I think the main problem that now started to get them all fired up is the rise of other companies who can also provide that experience (buying something out of the shelf and start printing with it without turning this into a fully fledged hobby to learn the mechanics). Bambu Lab not only did innovate on it but also started to provide that convience for the same price, obviously they had to go cheaper in order to start obtaining market share but with true innovation they can still sell advanced printers that are maybe 1.5X in price but 2-3X worth in the capabilities compared to the Prusa (while also providing cheaper options). Now the game is who is going to dominate which sector (low end consumers [price] / high end prosumers [innovation]). If I were Prusa I'd try to aim high but not sure how well equipped are they to catch up to other printers.
- Fomite 4y ago
  This. As a lawyer friend of mine put it, when working between academics and industry in other countries: "Contracts and licenses are not deflector shields. You have to be willing to sue in that country. If you don't trust your partners, a piece of paper isn't going to fix that."
sixothree 4y ago
He may not get reciprocity but his platform absolutely benefits from it being open source. The number of mods this has enabled makes his printer better. It’s that simple in my mind.
- Fomite 4y ago
  He also gets goodwill from it. The number of people, including fairly significant figures in the 3D printing world, will knock some of his logical competitors (Bambu) for not being open source. Each Prusa printer has some of its price premium attributable to "We like Joseph Prusa", and a lot (but not all) of that comes down to being open source.

jstanley 4y ago

That's fine for serious business endeavours, but absolutely kills one-man-band experimentation at the margin, which is the only interesting bit in the first place.

treesciencebot 4y ago

> If "the Chinese" want to clone your product, then you are often out of luck anyway. Although that is not entirely true anymore, my previous company fought in China against clones and IP theft a couple times and won. But you need to have a local presence, a local subsidary that can hire lawyers etc.. If you are just outsourcing production to third parties then it gets problematic. This is the take I think people are missing. If you are in a spot where "the Chinese" or any other company can cut you out, then I'm in the box that you are producing anything unique. Which was/is not true for Prusa, since even though there are clones that can be had by 1/4th of the price; people sure trust the name of Prusa to order directly from them. This is why they are the most sold printer of all time, their name is a mark of quality. I think the main problem that now started to get them all fired up is the rise of other companies who can also provide that experience (buying something out of the shelf and start printing with it without turning this into a fully fledged hobby to learn the mechanics). Bambu Lab not only did innovate on it but also started to provide that convience for the same price, obviously they had to go cheaper in order to start obtaining market share but with true innovation they can still sell advanced printers that are maybe 1.5X in price but 2-3X worth in the capabilities compared to the Prusa (while also providing cheaper options). Now the game is who is going to dominate which sector (low end consumers [price] / high end prosumers [innovation]). If I were Prusa I'd try to aim high but not sure how well equipped are they to catch up to other printers.

Fomite 4y ago
This. As a lawyer friend of mine put it, when working between academics and industry in other countries: "Contracts and licenses are not deflector shields. You have to be willing to sue in that country. If you don't trust your partners, a piece of paper isn't going to fix that."

sixothree 4y ago

He may not get reciprocity but his platform absolutely benefits from it being open source. The number of mods this has enabled makes his printer better. It’s that simple in my mind.

Fomite 4y ago
He also gets goodwill from it. The number of people, including fairly significant figures in the 3D printing world, will knock some of his logical competitors (Bambu) for not being open source. Each Prusa printer has some of its price premium attributable to "We like Joseph Prusa", and a lot (but not all) of that comes down to being open source.