MakerBot, a 3D printing company, was an early adopter of an open source philosophy when it first began. However, like several other companies, MakerBot eventually transitioned backed to closed source and faced an outrage from its community.
Aside from the inability to assert one’s property rights on an invention, what are the other risks of engaging in open source? Does it seem right that a company could start as open source and then move to closed source as MakerBot did? What legal remedies, if any, could members of the open source community seek against MakerBot?
For those that are interested in 3D printing, there’s an a cool documentary on Netflix, entitled “Print the Legend,” that features MakerBot and discusses its history with open source.
I wonder whether it’s inevitable that “open source” becomes “closed source” in this climate. If you cannot keep people from using your ideas (because you haven’t patented or otherwise protected them), then what are the barriers to entry?
On the other hand, most businesses operate without much IP – how do they succeed?
Perhaps the distinction can be made in operating in an industry where “no one else has any IP, either” – and operating in one where virtually everyone else does.