I’ve been thinking about my post ‘The Open Source Philosophy’, and in particular, the Arduino.

I was full of praise for the Arduino, and admittedly, it is a fantastic product. But just how generous are they in licensing it as Creative Commons?

Well firstly, the CC license only covers the schematics. This is not generous; it’s necessary. The Arduino targets the hobbyist market, and if they are to be allowed to construct the Arduino themselves, then they obviously need schematics. Also, other businesses don’t gain much of an advantage from having the schematics, because reverse engineering this sort of product is incredibly simple.

But not everything is Creative Commons; the name ‘Arduino’ is protected. This allows them to differentiate their boards as ‘official products’. And because the schematics are licensed as Creative Commons, the Arduino team can integrate any ideas or forks which are implemented by the community, or competitors, into their own product.

People have a tendency to flock to CC projects. Any peripherals that are manufactured for the Arduino are highly valuable to the core team, because it adds value to their product. But people who produce their own boards are in direct competition, and are effectively vying for the same slice of the pie. So they spin a load of rubbish about ‘Made in Italy’ being a fantastic thing. They don’t even insinuate that products built elsewhere are inferior; they directly state it! This sort of protectionism is ridiculous. China has some of the most high tech manufacturing facilities in the world; and not all employees are treated like slaves. And who’s to say that the boards couldn’t be ethically sourced from manufacturers in France, or Belgium, or the UK, or India; the list is endless.

I was initially very positive about the Arduino, and how it forged new territory for the Creative Commons movement. But lets get this right: Arduino is a product which is created for profit, which piggy backs on the successful open source IDE’s and languages such as Processing (which, consequently, are non-profit).

I believe that organisations like this have a place in the commercial world, because they make a lot of sense financially, and they are beneficial to the community. But Creative Commons isn’t always a golden halo, and it isn’t always used for the benefit of the community. Creative Commons, and the community that it serves, can be exploited. It’s a new world for sure, just don’t get sucked in too much.