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I presume there is a segment of VID that is marked as 'local' or 'for test purpose only'? Just like IP has local addresses for intranet/testing. Also, if an op

I presume there is a segment of VID that is marked as 'local' or 'for test purpose only'? Just like IP has local addresses for intranet/testing. Also, if an open source is popular enough to the point a unique VID is needed for proper driver support, I will say this project will easily get fundings to go commercial (just like RedHat).

nraynaud 13y ago
Nope I couldn't find any in the specification. Following a link on the internet it look like they actually have a prototype VID/PID, but you have to contact the forum and sign some boilerplate (saying you won't release your product with the proto numbers) to get it.
iXce 13y ago
Heh, most such open source projects don't want to "go commercial", that's the exact point. And I'm not sure how RedHat is exactly "an open source project who went commercial" or rather a commercial company doing open source.
JonFish85 13y ago
Nothing is stopping anyone from using any given VID for their own purposes of testing. If its in your own garage as the article mentions, you can use whatever you want. However, once it's out in the wild (even if it's just the few hundred devices), the USB-IF (and their lawyers) apparently can squash it. The fee is $5k if I recall. As others have mentioned, if you are planning on making a real product, it's something you can roll into the cost. Although I completely understand the difficulty of someone just looking to sell ~100 devices. I wonder if there's a way to allow a "Bring-your-own" VID? As in maybe switches or something to set the VID by the purchaser?
- nraynaud 13y ago
  Technically, you could, but you don't want to stomp on other vendor's feet. It's a bit like mac addresses or IP addresses, you can do what you want but you probably want to behave in society (in the case of IP addresses, you'll need friends for routing). And also, to find the device from the OS API, you sometimes have to submit the VID/PID of the device you are looking for. Example: http://developer.chrome.com/apps/usb.html#method-findDevices http://developer.chrome.com/apps/usb.html#method-findDevices So changing it on the fly might be a problem (not sure, maybe once open they won't seek it again).
  - voltagex_ 13y ago
    Devices like USB modems switch based on what mode they're running in, anyway.

nraynaud 13y ago

Nope I couldn't find any in the specification. Following a link on the internet it look like they actually have a prototype VID/PID, but you have to contact the forum and sign some boilerplate (saying you won't release your product with the proto numbers) to get it.

iXce 13y ago

Heh, most such open source projects don't want to "go commercial", that's the exact point. And I'm not sure how RedHat is exactly "an open source project who went commercial" or rather a commercial company doing open source.

JonFish85 13y ago

Nothing is stopping anyone from using any given VID for their own purposes of testing. If its in your own garage as the article mentions, you can use whatever you want. However, once it's out in the wild (even if it's just the few hundred devices), the USB-IF (and their lawyers) apparently can squash it. The fee is $5k if I recall. As others have mentioned, if you are planning on making a real product, it's something you can roll into the cost. Although I completely understand the difficulty of someone just looking to sell ~100 devices. I wonder if there's a way to allow a "Bring-your-own" VID? As in maybe switches or something to set the VID by the purchaser?

nraynaud 13y ago
Technically, you could, but you don't want to stomp on other vendor's feet. It's a bit like mac addresses or IP addresses, you can do what you want but you probably want to behave in society (in the case of IP addresses, you'll need friends for routing). And also, to find the device from the OS API, you sometimes have to submit the VID/PID of the device you are looking for. Example: http://developer.chrome.com/apps/usb.html#method-findDevices http://developer.chrome.com/apps/usb.html#method-findDevices So changing it on the fly might be a problem (not sure, maybe once open they won't seek it again).
- voltagex_ 13y ago
  Devices like USB modems switch based on what mode they're running in, anyway.