s e
if theres an FPGA involved encrypting the bitstream and setting (in xilinxs case efuse) key registers should be pretty safe
they can copy all they want but only FPGAs that has the magic key can understand the bit file
-Lasse
Yes, you would think that there would be little profit in copying it, but stranger things have happened. The big thing is that we have brought an existing idea - a talking color reader - and brought it down below $100 in price. That makes it a much more attractive purchase to the user, and seems to be resulting in higher sales.
We do have an MCU and I have the protect bits set, but I realize that if someone was really serious they could probably get around this. In our case, though, without the calibratrion standards and testing regime, their accuracy would probably suffer by 20% or more.
In your case, I can see your dilemma. If the customer CAN just make them himself, then it becomes merely a question of "Is it worth his time and money?" on whether he does it himself. And, of course, if he DOES decide to do it himself, he will not tell you so untill you have
1000 units in inventory, and you just never receive any more orders...Charlie
Yes, that is the circuit and device. People always ask if I have a patent, and I tell them that it is unpatentable as the ideas have been around for over 20 years. I do copyright each release version of the software, though. Heck, I did a Circuit Cellar article last year and basically described the whole process if someone really wanted to copy it...
It's too small a market for others to seriously consider copying. It is a lot of effort to reverse engineer something.
If you lock up the code in the uC well enough you are probably ok. In the end it's like with burglars. They come to a door, find a deadbolt, a sturdy frame and a bark that sounds like it's coming from a Rottweiler, then decide "Nah, let's check whether the next house is easier".
-- Regards, Joerg http://www.analogconsultants.com/
Yes, we have had some similiar issues with our best retailer. We were getting an order of about 12 or so a month. Then, we got two orders in a month, so we ordered more boards. Then, while waiting for the boards, we got other orders and ran out, so that, when the boards did arrive, we had already sold more than half of them. By the time we had them all built and tested, they were sold, so we ordered more for the next round. We have finally caught up, so now we can seek out new business!
But, our test regime actually takes a while...
Charlie
Heard an interesting story from a guy who used to do sales for a chip vendor. He got a call from a major cel phone maker to expect an order for 500K chips from his manufacturer. He gets the order, but it is for 1M! He checks back with cel guy, and says yes, he is only making
500K. Seems the chinese factory was making 500K cel phones for him, and 500K phones for themselves...Same guy explained why certain cel batteries started going boom. Seems that on a certain phone design, the manufacturer had the battery supervisor chips rotated so that they didn't work. Manufacturer 'fixed' the problem by removing chip and jumpering across it. Batteries tended to over charge...
Charlie
Possibly, but the expense in getting an easily breakable patent is too great for the benefit...
Who wins a prior art or obviousness challenge is generally only a matter of who has the bigger guns and the most ammo. As in lawyers and money.
-- Regards, Joerg http://www.analogconsultants.com/
That's too cynical by half. I've worked with little companies that blew away bad patents owned by big companies. Resources are important, but so are the facts of the case.
Cheers
Phil Hobbs
-- Dr Philip C D Hobbs Principal Consultant ElectroOptical Innovations LLC Optics, Electro-optics, Photonics, Analog Electronics 160 North State Road #203 Briarcliff Manor NY 10510 hobbs at electrooptical dot net http://electrooptical.net
You can also add an Easter egg that will let you know immediately if a competitor has merely shelled out the modest sum to have your micro copy protection overridden or has gone to the trouble of reverse engineering the unit.
Sure, but I have seen it mostly the other way around. Where the goal appeared to be to starve the little company, IOW keep on fighting until they run out of cash.
-- Regards, Joerg http://www.analogconsultants.com/
As you should know, time is money. Are there ways you can automate the testing or reduce the time? Do you have an idea of how much it costs to do the testing and cal?
I was told a long time ago that for most companies the overhead and expenses of sales, etc, are such that you need to charge double your cost of operations. Meaning if the boards cost $50 to produce including the test and cal, warranty returns, etc., you should be charging $100 per board to be doing well. Of course that is just a rule of thumb and as you mentioned before, selling below $100 seems to be a trigger that promotes more sales making up for the loss of revenue from a higher price.
I guess my point is that to sell at $100 each, your total cost of manufacturing should be below $50 including the test and cal.
-- Rick
A patent is only "breakable" if they aren't good in the first place. Yes, it does cost money to defend, but that is only a major issue if you are being assaulted by a much larger company.
Possibly more important, it prevents the possibility that someone else will get the same patent putting you out of business. One way to prevent that is to file a preliminary application for $300. That establishes prior art with no obligation to follow up or to defend. Prior art is just that, prior art, but it has to be proven and any application with the patent office is about as good as you can document. Is your invention worth $300?
-- Rick
Actually, since I have published the design in Circuit Cellar, the point is essentially moot...
Charlie
I think you missed my point. Your publication may meet requirements for prior art, but unless the patent examiner reads that magazine or searches it the patent may be granted anyway. If the issue being patented shows up in their data base, they are much more likely to find it and deny the patent in the first place. But then paying $300 is not a nice as getting paid a few hundred. :)
-- Rick
Isn't that legally a dicey proposition, considering the inventor's oath that needs to be signed?
Plus every defendant's counsel worth their salt can blow that patent right out of the water later. All they need for that is an ability to operate an Internet search engine, and afterwards plaintiff's counsel will likely recommend to fold'em.
-- Regards, Joerg http://www.analogconsultants.com/
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