Glossary

This is a working glossary of the legal context that surronds the terms Arduiono, Freeduino and the products described by those terms. I welcome feedback on anything you see on this page with which you agree or dissagree, you may email me directly or post to one of the Arduino forums sited below. I'm always looking for more, and more accurate, information.

Arduino project:

Whatever goes on at the website arduino.cc. There is also something called "The Arduino Foundation". I haven't discovered more information on the nature of this organization. Please email with links/information if you have them.

Arduino team:

The people listed here.

Massimo Banzi, David Cuartielles, Tom Igoe, Gianluca Martino, David A. Mellis

Arduino Trademark Dispute History:

This is a probably inaccurate account from heresay sources. If you have better information please email me and I will fill in this space. Only the Arduino team knows for sure, and as of this writing, they aren't saying much. This is also all I have time for now. I'll be glad to add more when I have more time and information. A history of the whole project might be interesting. Email me and I'll put it up.

The Arduino project is about three years old. For most of that time, the Arduino team has ignored the way that the term "Arduino" was used and even promoted ideas like "build your own Arduino" and "breadboard Arduino". Sometime in the summer of 2007, perhaps in response to appearance of hardware from people who did build their own Arduinos, the Arduino Team asked hardware builders, to not use the term "Arduino" for hardware that was not designed by the Arduino Team. This has lead to awkward descriptions of things previously known as "Ardionos", but Modern Device Company is dedicating to respecting the wishes of the team that created the Arduino. I personally spend many hours developing documentation for the Arduino website.

Others have ignored the Arduio Team's requests, and the Team's own efforts including "build your own Arduino" and "Breadboard Arduino" still appear on the website. It is hard to see how these uses of the name "Arduino" will be resolved. Recently the Team has moved away from their postiion and discussions about the future direction of hardware development for the Arduino project are under way.

These two Arduino forum posts give one a good sense of the debate, and have been read 1000's of times, suggesting that someone really cares about these things, or that geeks have too much time on their hands.

"Open-source" forum thread
"Freeduino" forum thread

Freeduino:

Arduino-compatible hardware not invernted by the Arduino Team.

The term was invented as a joke in the Freeduino forum thread above, by Daniel Jolliffe, and adopted by others to describe Arduino-compatible hardware not invernted by the Arduino Team. It doesn't have much of a definition yet, beyond "Arduino-by-others". I'm hopeful one will emerge.

The Freeduino License by Daniel Joliffe

"Also, as there are many questions without answers about who can use the "Arduino" name, I invented a name that anyone is free to use: Freeduino. After you finish reading this sentence you are hereby granted an unofficial license to make things called Freeduino. You have to read the whole sentence though. If you have read this far you are already a licensed Freeduino maker! Congratulations. [Smiley]"1

Freeduino Projects

There is an agitprop project to replicate the Arduino Diecimila as a Freeduino.

Bare Bones Board is a Freeduino project to the extent that the schematics and board design is realeased under a creative commons license. I'm also working on a reference design that will be open for all uses, including commmercial applications.

Check the servo page at moderndevice.com. Email in those links.

The Freeduino Hardware

Freeduino Hardware may be found at:

 Please email me other links to Freeduino hardware

The Freeduino Website

So far there is only a server with an index of discrimination-free Arduino related development. There is quite a bit of activity behind the scenes though. Watch this/that space.