> This is what's happening with open source hardware. For example, VESC and ODrive both quickly had knockoffs in all the usual places. The maintainers were somewhat understandably irked by this, but if you ask me it's exactly what should be happening.
That is fantastic (at least as far as I understand it). What a fantasy of open source that not only do people download your code and compile it, but they download your hardware design and manufacture it!
Who doesn't it benefit? The designers and other developers now have prototypes, etc. without having to pay for manufacturing.
Agreed. I'm working on some hardware that I intend to open source and prepare a ZIP with all the files necessary to order your own boards from some place like JLCPCB that also does assembly. For the user it's a matter of dragging the ZIP to the manufacturers site and filling in some details. But that also means that they can easily swap out parts and customize it any way they want. Together with a 3D printer to make a case, you could make OSS/HW replacements to a lot of the crapware products that we have to use.
That is fantastic (at least as far as I understand it). What a fantasy of open source that not only do people download your code and compile it, but they download your hardware design and manufacture it!
Who doesn't it benefit? The designers and other developers now have prototypes, etc. without having to pay for manufacturing.