Giving Away your Work and Having Others Work for...
Transcript of Giving Away your Work and Having Others Work for...
Giving Away your Work and Having Others Work for Free
Adrian BowyerRepRap Project
Global HR Forum
2 November 2017
#reprap@adrianbowyer
Patents
● Reveal your technology and give the protection of the law for your monopoly.
Patents
● Reveal your technology and give the protection of the law for your monopoly.
● Useless unless you can afford the lawyers to defend them.
Patents
● Reveal your technology and give the protection of the law for your monopoly.
● Useless unless you can afford the lawyers to defend them.
● Often better just to keep things secret.
Patents
● Reveal your technology and give the protection of the law for your monopoly.
● Useless unless you can afford the lawyers to defend them.
● Often better just to keep things secret.
● Your rivals may reverse engineer.
Patents
● Reveal your technology and give the protection of the law for your monopoly.
● Useless unless you can afford the lawyers to defend them.
● Often better just to keep things secret.
● Your rivals may reverse engineer.
Implicitly and inherently adversarial
Secrets are not as valuable as you think
● You: The SunkCost Fallacy● Rival: Not Invented Here
● Hardware is software (like life is DNA)● Fully Open Source (GPL)● (Selfreplicating – patent makes little sense)
RepRap Prusa
Give Away your Intellectual Property Instead
● Hardware is software (like life is DNA)● Fully Open Source (GPL)● (Selfreplicating – patent makes little sense)
RepRap Prusa
Give Away your Intellectual Property Instead
● Commercial success● LulzBot ($10M p.a.)● Prusa Research ($25M p.a.)● Ultimaker ($14M p.a.)
● AdaFruit/Limor Fried● $33M p.a.● Arduino● $13M p.a.
Maybe SelfReplication is Special?
● MakerBot started opensource● Another company copied their 3D Printer● MakerBot went closedsource● MakerBot sold to Stratasys● Lost their marketleading position ● Social obprobrium● Now talking about going opensource again
Social Pressure is Stronger than Mere Law
● Anyone can copy your product
What You Lose
● No Patent or Legal Costs (obviously)
What You Gain
● Little need for confidentiality, ● NDAs, ● Rules about cameras/phones,● Employees taking data offsite● More relaxed all round
What You Gain
● Hundreds or thousands – of free engineers
What You Gain
● Free customer support
What You Gain
● Infringement impossible● Greater Tax Revenue● Bigger Market● National Autonomy – no TRIPS/WTO problems● Inventor's Advantage
Free Patents
● Infringement impossible● Greater Tax Revenue● Bigger Market● National Autonomy – no TRIPS/WTO problems● Inventor's Advantage
Free Patents
● Keep patent law the same● Add FREEPATENT check box● Anyone can make and sell the technology● No royalties
● Infringement impossible● Greater Tax Revenue● Bigger Market● National Autonomy – no TRIPS/WTO problems● Inventor's Advantage
Free Patents
● Keep patent law the same● Add FREEPATENT check box● Anyone can make and sell the technology● No royalties● Inventor pays no tax on sales