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Hey guys,

During the launching of 3D Hubs in Nice, at the @NavLab, we had an interesting discussion about Open Source.

I think it could be an interesting topic to talk about here as Ultimaker and Makerbot have different approachs towards patents.

I wanted to have your opinion on it. Please don’t hesitate sharing your pros and cons.

Cheers,

Julie
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I feel that opensource is the backbone of 3D printing the very core in which all things have grown from, without open source there would be no makerbot/ultimaker. Opensource is the lifeblood of innovation powered through by its ability to give the industry a democracy of sorts in which people can freely engage in exploration. I feel as businesses grow this can at times become blurred, looking at a company like Lulzbot who always maintain their transparency tends to do well in the technical community as this is appreciate like Ultimaker. I feel the respect of your community should be valued higher than the margin on the printer.

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So do I, Ultimaker and certain branches of RepRap are the perfect examples of the benefits from OpenSource. So why did a company such as Makerbot hold inventions ? No judging here, just wondering :slight_smile:

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At the end of the day, there a business they make their decisions based on monetary gain and expansion. It’s understandable but encouragble

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Knowing that 3D printing progress have been put on hold due to copyrights for more than 20 years, I think it is a very poor behaviour from Makerbot to try and monopolize an Open Source concept by registering patents. Not to mention the lack of ethical consideration of taking something from everybody and keeping it for themselves, I think they really screwed up with the Makers movement, and will find it more difficult now to sell their products.

As you know, I am a strong supporter of Open Hardware and OpenSource concepts, and this is why I push that forward at the NavLab. Invention patents only benefit to those who have the ability to pursue violators, which is usually not the case for independent inventors, and thus slows down innovation by establishing a monopoly (as we saw with 3D printing).

We know by facts that companies based on Open Source and Open Hardware can make great business models as long as they have great skills. This is the way forward, come on it’s 2014 !

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They clearly target a large public, not aware of OpenSource and patent considerations, instead of the Maker movement. Will it pay ? Maybe. Is it nice to behave like that ? Certainly not.

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I agree @NavLab its hard to see, but like with so many upcoming technologies the disappearance of opensource happens too quickly and rapidly. The outcome stagnation of innovation where no one wins apart from the patent holder

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Having been at sea several years, I have been very frustrated to see manufacturers keeping drawings and repairing informations of obsolete products to sell more of their new models.

When something is not working at home and you can’t fix it, you can always buy a new one (if you have the money). When something is not working while you are at sea on a 2 weeks crossing with pirates all around you, and you can’t fix it because the manufacturer decided to make a bit more money… believe me, you’re not happy. And it happenned to me a looooot of times.

Thus, an OpenSource product is not only an “ethical” or “humankind sharing” concept, it is also the only smart way to fight planned obsolescence and reduce our living costs.

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This is sadly very true @Gfisherwils… Let’s hope people will soon enough understand it is smarter to buy an OpenSource product, and that they can save a lot of time and money by doing so.

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I think the main community of 3D Printing Enthuasists really appreciate opensource hence the RepRap community so big and still growing and companies sticking to open source as they grow it says a lot about the authenticity and understanding of the community and its origins. Be interesting to hear @Luuk @Dan views on this.

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