[sdiy] SSM chip reissue

[Michael E Caloroso]

There are ways other than patents or copyrights to protect your circuits

Encase the critical components in rock-hard epoxy.  Dissolving the
epoxy destroys the components, which may never be identified.

Many boutique devices also have the IC markings sanded off.  Sure you
can identify the IC on the substrate but you'll destroy it in the
process.  There used to be a very good maker of synths named
Technosaurus.  He made very good sounding modulars back around 2000.
He got a large order from an asian company and got suspicious, so he
sanded the markings off the ICs.  When they received the first few
modules, they cancelled the order.  Haven't heard from him since about
2002.

MC

On 4/25/17, Mike HEQX <mike at heqx.com> wrote:
> Well said David. I have been asked to patent and copyright many things
> that I have created over the years, but having managed copyright and
> patent processing for other people I said " heck no". It seems the only
> remedy to being copied and exploited is really good marketing and taking
> the market early. I truly believe that if you make something cool and
> have good intentions and customer service you can make money. If you are
> a dirtbag and only exist off other people's effort then your name will
> only be synonymous with cheap and people won't look to you to innovate.
>
> Mike
>
>
> On 4/25/2017 3:09 AM, David G Dixon wrote:
>> Copyright on a schematic is exactly that: the schematic, not the product
>> it
>> represents.
>>
>> There is nothing in an electronic design that can't be copied by a
>> competitor unless it is covered by a patent, but patents are reserved for
>> things which are novel and inventive, and they cost a lot of money, time
>> and
>> effort to get.  In fact, I can say with experience that getting patents is
>> a
>> very soul-sucking experience, and not for the faint of heart.  I should
>> know, as I have about 7 of the damn things and they have been nothing but
>> a
>> source of grief -- I have never made a penny on any of them.  In fact,
>> the
>> only things I've ever "invented" and actually made money on are my synth
>> module designs, and most of them are no great secret.
>>
>> If you make a successful product, then you are basically inviting your
>> competition to copy you and undercut your price.  It happens all the
>> time,
>> in every sphere of business.
>>
>>
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: Synth-diy [mailto:synth-diy-bounces at synth-diy.org] On
>>> Behalf Of rsdio at audiobanshee.com
>>> Sent: Monday, April 24, 2017 11:34 PM
>>> To: synth-diy at synth-diy.org
>>> Subject: Re: [sdiy] SSM chip reissue
>>>
>>>
>>> On Apr 24, 2017, at 1:01 PM, Vladimir Pantelic
>>> <vladoman at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>> On 24.04.2017 21:15, Jay Schwichtenberg wrote:
>>>>> You need to look up Behringer's history. They lost
>>> lawsuits for coping Aphex (sp?) and Mackie equipment.
>>>> Behringer only lost to Aphex and that was in or before
>>> 1997, that's 20 years ago....
>>>> the Mackie suit was dismissed:
>>>>
>>>> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Behringer#Legal_cases
>>> It looks like Mackie lost because there isn't any law against
>>> literally copying another company's schematic in a competing product.
>>>
>>> I don't know what the ethics are, but it sure makes it
>>> difficult for an inventor to make repairs easy decades into
>>> the future, without also making it easy for a competitor to
>>> skip all the R&D costs and undercut the price.
>>>
>>> I suppose if there is a patent on technology in the
>>> schematic, like Moog's ladder filter, then that's a different
>>> story from hoping to copyright the schematic of a complete product.
>>>
>>> Brian Willoughby
>>>
>>>
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