Somewhere to market your projects without having to run a business?

[Mark Hammer]

Enzo, over at the Music Electronics Forum, brought this to our attention:  http://www.clubjameco.com/

Jameco, whose goods I'm sure many here have bought over the years, is looking for project kits to market.

[Colonel Angus]

That's pretty neat. I have to be honest, I thought this post was going to be about something much ... snarkier

[defaced]

Looks like a good match-up to BatchPCB's Marketplace: http://batchpcb.com/index.php/Products
You can upload board files to their marketpalce, make a page for them, and distribute the link.  When a person wants to order your boards, they are made for them and shipped to them; you are paid based on either markup or royalties, not sure which.  The only hitch would be lead time on boards is like 2 to 3 weeks.

[FiveseveN]

Designer hereby grants to Jameco, and Jameco hereby accepts, an EXCLUSIVE, WORLDWIDE, PERPETUAL, IRREVOCABLE license to brand, develop, build, promote, market, distribute and sell Designer's Project Brief and/or Kit/Project Design. Designer hereby grants to Jameco the exclusive right to exhibit and/or market the Project Brief and/or Kit/Project Design in whole or in part on Jameco-owned and/or authorized and/or affiliated websites or in Jameco-authorized promotional materials. Designer hereby grants to Jameco the exclusive right to store and transmit digital versions of the Project Brief and/or Kit/Project Design to facilitate production, distribution and sale of the Kit/Project Design.

That doesn't sound right. I'd rather go with BatchPCB.

[Colonel Angus]

Pretty standard contract stuff. I'm sure part of the agreement also ensures that the designer will receive credit and compensation. Probably best to have a lawyer look it over before you give them EXCLUSIVE, WORLDWIDE, PERPETUAL, IRREVOCABLE license on your million dollar idea, for instance, console FX 

[boogietone]

License terms could be a problem here. I would want active, guaranteed promotion, sales or equivalent (probably not going to happen) and a clear statement on pricing, royalties, liability, etc (hopefully elsewhere in the contract). If this is STRICTLY limited to that one particular "Kit" and you were not effectively prevented from selling other similar or derivative works, OK. But, one reading of this could be that you could not build one for a friend or throw your prototype up on eBay. My biggest issue is not knowing what the meaning of Project Design is in the context of this contract. It may be fine, may be not.

I understand where they, Jameco, are coming from and also that most on this forum are just happy to build something.

Any of non-exclusive, US/Europe/Asia only, limited duration, revocable are just as standard contract language.

[Colonel Angus]

it's a trade off. Sure you would certainly want to thoroughly read the contract (ie have a lawyer explain it to you), but it is a trade off in the end. Do you expect your schematic drawn on a bar napkin to as ubiquitous as Velcro ? If you do, then market it yourself or get a contract with better terms. If you can appreciate that your idea is probably a flash in the pan or a drop in the bucket, then this is probably as much as you are ever going to sell. Risky in either regard, but no risk - no reward.

I can't stress enough the importance of legal counsel before signing away your intellectual property. You would hate to be the next Hamsterdance (never got paid, franchise made millions)

[Processaurus]

The standard indie record contract includes a clause that if the the record is out of print, and you write the record company to have it re pressed, and they don't do it within 6 months, rights to the record go back to the band, and you own it  entirely again.  I would want something like that from Jameco before licensing a design to them.  Otherwise you could get in a situation where the kit isn't being sold, but you can't take it anywhere else legally.

I've idly wondered about something like this for designers here to sell PCB designs without having to deal with individual orders, by using an internet distributor with a relationship with a PCB fab house.  Does anyone know BatchPCB's royalty deal?  They wanted me to create an account to tell me the details...

[defaced]

The standard indie record contract includes a clause that if the the record is out of print, and you write the record company to have it re pressed, and they don't do it within 6 months, rights to the record go back to the band, and you own it  entirely again.  I would want something like that from Jameco before licensing a design to them.  Otherwise you could get in a situation where the kit isn't being sold, but you can't take it anywhere else legally.

I've idly wondered about something like this for designers here to sell PCB designs without having to deal with individual orders, by using an internet distributor with a relationship with a PCB fab house.  Does anyone know BatchPCB's royalty deal?  They wanted me to create an account to tell me the details...

I signed up for for the Marketplace stuff, I've had a general account for getting boards done with them for a few years, but I didn't see anything specific about their royalty schedule.  I did get their Terms of Service though:

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[Processaurus]

Reseller Services

Description As part of the BatchPCB Service, BatchPCB offers a service (the "Reseller Service") that allows you to upload gerber files, images, data, and other content (collectively "Content") to the Website to create, produce and purchase Products featuring the uploaded Content for your own use.

Delivery of Content You will upload or deliver to BatchPCB all Content that you want to use with the Reseller Service in accordance with the applicable instructions on the Website, and BatchPCB may, in its sole and exclusive discretion, determine whether any Content complies with such instructions and is satisfactory for use with the Service.

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Pricing BatchPCB reserves the right to determine a minimum price for all Content sold using the Reseller Service. You, as the Reseller have the right to determine your Content price above that minimum.

Payment Orders and payments for your Content will be handled through the BatchPCB Service, with proceeds due to you being remitted in values of $10 or greater to you once a month by whatever payment type we deem necessary. Proceeds earned over a month amounting to less than $10 will be held in reserve until total proceeds are equal or greater than $10.

That seems like the part pertinent here.  What is their royalty system like?  Have you sold a number of PCB designs through them, if I may ask?

[boogietone]

A quick read of the batchpcb contract shows it to be "better." The phrase "royalty-free, worldwide, transferable, nonexclusive, right and license to use" does not give me the same concern as the other one. Clarification about the payment would be helpful.

Again, the other contract with exclusivity may be fine as long as the effective transfer of control is limited to the kit and related items as delivered to them and that you could sell a similar item within some restrictions or that there is a limited duration clause. I have not read this one so I only have questions. Another potential scenario is that you make "improvements" to the circuit as we are wont to do or use part or all it in another context. Have you effectively given away your rights to sell this new version?