To share or not to share … ?

[DougH]

First, a little background: I've come up with a few circuit ideas here and there and shared them. Nothing earthshaking, all derived from existing ideas, as are the majority of analog audio circuits.

With that, let me be perfectly blunt: No one in the industry gives a sh*t about your circuit design, idea, or schematic. In the real rough & tumble world of the electronics business- circuit designs are merely commodities, nothing more and nothing less. How much they are "protected" depends on which lawyer you talk to and how much money you pay (and as R.G. mentioned, this has been covered ad nauseum on here). Real electronic innovation occurs by companies systematically ripping off designs from other companies and individuals, and then making improvements. Research the history of the electrical/electronics industry and this recurring pattern will emerge.

There are a small handful of post-90s musical equipment builders who somehow believe this process/tradition doesn't apply to them. So you will see them from time to time in forums like this and others, crying in their beer trying to elicit sympathy when it does. And it will continue to happen to anyone who builds or designs anything that is remotely successful. So keep this in mind if you decide to go commercial. You will have to account for this as part of your business plan.

If you decide to share ideas as a hobbyist, with other hobbyists, that's your personal choice. But if you go into business, when the first piece of gear rolls off your line and is sold- consider that idea shared.

[R.G.]

Never a horse that couldn't be rode, never a rider that couldn't be throw'ed.

[kodiakklub]

I don't think they do. My point is exactly the opposite about patents! Probably because I'm on the other side of the Atlantic ocean, don't know . But your idea of "simple disclosure is enough to prevent being excluded from your own idea, no licensing needed" is probably the best way to go. Times are changing! 3D printers will change the way we see and use material objects, only time will tell what is the future of open-source hardware.

What is missing and needed is a Star Treck replicator! That would make, at least, my life simpler.

Cheers.

can someone please get on with coming up with a DIY 3D printer that is hacked to make PCB's on the cheap. put a mill head on sucker to scrape away the excess copper. then put in a drill bit for the holes. this cant be that hard!! 

[joegagan]

i agree with keen, sleep and hammond.

the case that influences much of my thinking is peter roberts. sears paid 20 year old roberts 10k in 65 for licensing his socket release mechanism for craftsmen ratchets.
dunno if the initial 10k deal was legal or not, but he sued them in 69 for giving him a raw deal. a court found in his favor in 76 and awarded him 1 million dollars, sears wasted another 20 or so years appealing and finally the appeal was turned over by the US supreme court . roberts won, but at what cost? the suit was filed in 69, and i recall that sears was finally ordered to pay the man in the mid 90s. he spent most of his life fighting sears i also recall reading that the award did not cover his legal costs.
it seems the real question here is, how do you want to spend your life? i am 52, i have spent a little time with lawyers, sometimes testifying in lawsuits , but i can tell you there are at least 999 things i would rather spend my time doing.

[chromesphere]

If you dont mind, im going to start a new thread with this same title.

For me personally, i think sharing information is the most important.  One can withhold information / discoveries / knowledge and make advancements of their own financial status or share and make advancements to a wide audience of peoples understanding.  

But at the end of the day, i just give back to the people that have given to me.  

The DIY guitar pedal community wouldnt be what it is if it was any other way.

Of course, you CAN do both.  I can teach you the process of making a guitar pedal, but thats not necessarily going to mean that if you make one yourself, its going to be as good mine.  Craftsmanship is a sign of experience.

Paul

[senko]

Some things, you do for money,
some things you do for love.

If you've got something good, go get paid for it and then release the schematic online as 'reverse engineered from the original'.
I've sold my schematics before and the schematics are now online.  Everyone's happy, and I move on to the next better project.

[drolo]

All your comments have really helped me realize that

a. sharing is goood and is what i felt i ought to do all along. It is only normal that i share the little i have after benefiting so much from what others have shared
b. no-one in the industry cares, electronic designs as such aren't really what they invest the most in anyway as i see it, more in marketing etc...
c. I was merely wondering about whether there were any "trade secrets" in this business. I guess the "trade secrets" are not the circuits themselves as these can be easily reverse-engineered, degooped etc, but more how you run your business.
d. I would rather have my toe nails pulled out with pliers than having to deal with lawyers fighting over a copyright. "aint got time for this"
e. I now am almost ashamed to show my circuits as they are really not that extraordinary and probably already exist somewhere ...

nevertheless, whenever i get some time i will post the stuff, let it live its life and go on with mine ;-)