Giving Away your Work and Having Others Work for Free Adrian Bowyer RepRap Project Global HR Forum 2 November 2017 #reprap @adrianbowyer
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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
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