Fwd: [OH Updates] Open source experience

[Bryan Bishop]

From: jim mason <j...@allpowerlabs.org>
Date: Fri, May 11, 2012 at 2:02 AM
Subject: Re: [OH Updates] Open source experience
To: John Griessen <jo...@industromatic.com>
Cc: upd...@lists.openhardwaresummit.org




On Thu, May 10, 2012 at 10:26 PM, John Griessen <jo...@industromatic.com> wrote:

> On 05/10/2012 11:33 AM, Marco Perry wrote:
>>
>> And I am in talks with my usual IP lawyer.
>
>
> I'll be interested to hear what he says about strategy.  For the open part,
> he'll probably say, "Go nuts!  What are you asking me about giving things away for?",
> but who knows...  I have some things I want to have open, then add new modules that
> work with them, but are separate and so separately licensable.  I'll probably keep some
> of the good add-on modules trade secret or patent for a while, then open license them.
> Especially for complex machines that take a while to develop, test, and perfect.
>
> John Griessen



we run a similar hybrid model on our biomass gasification power
systems.  see: www.gekgasifier.com

the core kit is open and without formal ip description/protection.
some of the add-ons, and more importantly, the higher level
integrations that result in the packaged turn key product, are
protected with patents (though as sparsely as possible).

the goal is always to give away as much as possible, and do so over
meaningful things that produce real value and generate enthusiasm and
participation.  but as i've yet to figure out how to adequately hack
open hardware into producing an ancillary revenue stream of adequate
scale to allow the physical stuff to be truly free, i continue to
protect the end productization.

this has become more so as the initial horrahs of "here's a raw tech
solution that works" gave way to the realization that the details of
productization and elegant user experience are really harder than the
original tech.  this becomes more so as you move from early tech kits
to general and regular use of the solution.   now the protection, to
the degree we use it, is really aimed at the end state productization.

still in all this the juice of free and open nearly always outweighs
any negatives of theft.  to date all thefts of our thing have only
worked to affirm the value of the proposition.  but the logic of pro
and con will vary in different product domains.  it will also vary
with the maturity of the industry.  most of our current protection is
to steward our options 10 years down the road with the logic of our
market will be much different.

still, so far i've failed to fully realize the theses of kevin kelly's
"better than free"
http://www.kk.org/thetechnium/archives/2008/01/better_than_fre.php
that we've seen at play over digital products.  i tried to run the
strong form of this thesis in physical stuff, and it didn't work.  now
i'm running a factory and selling things, fuelled by a big open source
marketing tool.

at times this feels like the weak form of the thesis, and a bit
cynical.   but still much better than the other options we've had
previously.


j





On Thu, May 10, 2012 at 10:26 PM, John Griessen <jo...@industromatic.com> wrote:
>
> On 05/10/2012 11:33 AM, Marco Perry wrote:
>>
>> And I am in talks with my usual IP lawyer.
>
>
> I'll be interested to hear what he says about strategy.  For the open part,
> he'll probably say, "Go nuts!  What are you asking me about giving things away for?",
> but who knows...  I have some things I want to have open, then add new modules that
> work with them, but are separate and so separately licensable.  I'll probably keep some
> of the good add-on modules trade secret or patent for a while, then open license them.
> Especially for complex machines that take a while to develop, test, and perfect.
>
> John Griessen
>
> _______________________________________________
> updates mailing list
> upd...@lists.openhardwaresummit.org
> http://lists.openhardwaresummit.org/listinfo.cgi/updates-openhardwaresummit.org




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