Yesterday HK released a video about their new 433Mhz LRS modules.
And i shocked. Because it is unauthorized copy of my OpenLRS !
OpenLRS is an Opensource RC and i'm the developer of that system.
Stop the video on 1:08 and check the receiver.
And check the pinout or something. http://www.flytron.com/openlrs/146-openlrs-receiver-v2.html
Only the difference is 6 pin ICSP. We don't need that because of our production procedure.
Now the question is "What can i do?"
If i cant find an answer about that, i will stop to designing open source hardware.
Comments
The Hobby King product doesn't look like a copy of yours. Their transmitter is compatible with 9X and none of yours are. Also, the receiver has a completely different layout and pinout.
To be blunt, if it is your design, then they improved on it.
How do you know it's an exact copy? I see the layout is similar, not that there's a lot you can do to make it different. Typically Rx design has the antenna at one end, and 8x3 pins on the other side.
Do you know if they copied your code, which is what is really important?
Melih Karakelle When people smell money they don't give a s... about license or Open Source. You will never have a chance when you are up against this side of the world. I'm sure it's not only HK who use your code.
Ethically I agree with you. They should have approached you. I approached Chris, before purchasing My APM 2.0's Made by Diydrones, about any potential licencing fees for incorporating the technology in a potential RTF drone. Granted I have hit a stall on that project but it is just good manners to get permission of the creators IMHO even under Opensource licencing that would permit derivatives.
@Sgt;
Yes it is open to the community. The code under "GPL" and schematic under "Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike 3.0 License".
A lot of member supporting the OpenLRS project since 2 years with their codes and ideas. It is open source design for community and if anyone want to sell it, they have to ask to the designers before doing that. Is it contrary to your opinion?
@Carl: License agreements under Schematics and Source codes. I did not give much importance to them. :/
Anyway, where is the fair? I will leave these kind of projects and sell my closed ones to protecting my works.
You did obviosly chose the wrong license. The only thing HK must do is tell the customers about the sourceproject and the opensource-license. If they don't do it, that's the only chance to open a case against HK.
Next time ask a lawyer with knowledge for licensing.
I am surprised you expect to have control over a system you have labelled as "Opensource".
The very names of your project "OpenLRS" and "Opensource RC" show that it is available to the community.
Ladyada of Aidafruit has a good page on open source and non open source.
If you want to keep control over your project, feel free to use a restrictive license, but don't call it open source! (See for example the SGPL from Simputer, which requires payment of $25,000 to $250,000 t...)
I couldn't find any licencing agreements anywhere on your site so with the name OpenLRS, I would assume that it fits the model for commercial and non commercial derivatives. If you were planning on a patented product I think you shot yourself using the open source model and giving the source and schematics to the public domain.
I'm not a lawyer or intellectual property so you may have a case? but IMHO I think your just going to windup with hurt feelings.
http://www.ladyada.net/library/openhardware/license.html
http://opensource.org/docs/osd
Damn, probably anything you can do will cost You money. I'm no lawyer, but what license provisions did you have for your design?
I'm thinking a license you as designer pays an organization and you submit your design. When someone violates the license, your member fee pays for itself and the organization's lawyers go to work.
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