
Massimo Banzi: Fighting for Arduino - zaaaaz
http://makezine.com/2015/03/19/massimo-banzi-fighting-for-arduino/
======
ChuckMcM
_" After the process of registering in the US was over and our lawyer tried to
extend the trademark to the rest of the world, he realised that somebody had
registered it already in Italy. We (Tom, David, David, and I) were shocked and
demanded explanations. Gianluca reassured us that this was done to protect our
collective investment."_

I'm surprised it took them two years to figure this out in the first place,
but once it was uncovered then that is the point where you say, "Great, you
protected it, now transfer it immediately."

Unfortunately, when it wasn't turned over that means this person is not your
friend, and they do not have your, or the organization's best interests at
heart. So legal action starts right then and there. I know it is hard to
discover someone you work with is (or has been) planning to take advantage of
you all along, but history has shown that once its clear that is what they are
(or were) thinking, there is no "reconciliation" there is only winning and
losing.

~~~
smilekzs
I've had similar experiences. "when ... that means this person is not your
friend" was the best way to put it. A reasonable advice for all "friend team"
members: keep an eye on IP and profit distribution from Day 1.

------
ceequof
See also:

[http://hackaday.com/2015/02/25/arduino-v-
arduino/](http://hackaday.com/2015/02/25/arduino-v-arduino/)

[http://hackaday.com/2015/03/12/arduino-v-arduino-part-
ii/](http://hackaday.com/2015/03/12/arduino-v-arduino-part-ii/)

Note that the arduino.cc store is out of stock of pretty much everything,
which makes sense if Arduino Srl is no longer manufacturing anything for them:
[http://store.arduino.cc/category/11](http://store.arduino.cc/category/11)

Additionally, tinkerkit.com (Arduino LLC's line of branded sensors for Arduino
boards) has been down for at least a year now, which sucks, since that's where
all the example code and datasheets are kept. We've seen sales for those drop
through the floor.

The legal battle seems to have significantly impacted operations at Ardunio
LLC, to the point that they're not really a functioning company anymore.

~~~
ddp
An interesting tale. It never ceases to amaze me how poorly people can behave.
And, yeah, maybe this does explain why they seem to have not really made it
past their initial burst of creativity. At some point the BeagleBone Black and
the π2 just make a whole lot more sense. I still have a soft spot for the Due
w/ a PoE shield though.

~~~
markkanof
Agreed with your general sentiment, but the BeagleBone Black is still quite
lacking when it comes to documentation.

I'm a very experienced web developer, but am new to programming for embedded
type devices. While the BeagleBone Black in browser development environment is
quite nice, the lack of documentation makes it hard to figure out fairly basic
things like reading values from a gyroscope/accelerometer/magnetometer. A lot
of this hardware has existing libraries for Arduino, which is why in my
opinion the Arduino is still a superior platform for anyone who is somewhat
new to embedded computing.

~~~
HeyLaughingBoy
I agree. I'm the opposite: a very experienced embedded developer but
relatively new to web development (though my BBB is currently serving up a
page monitoring my mechanical room).

It's like pulling teeth to find out any but the most basic specs of the BBB. I
haven't used it much because a lot of what I wanted to do would have required
so much experimentation to figure out stuff that should already have been
documented. I just don't have that kind of time these days.

~~~
joezydeco
Experienced embedded developer here as well.

For some reason I haven't had any trouble with the Beaglebone at all. A kernel
driver is a kernel driver, and I2C bus is an I2C bus.

What specs on the BBB do you need, specifically, that are causing you trouble?

~~~
HeyLaughingBoy
It's been a while since I looked at it. IIRC, the main problem I had was that
many of the IO lines had shared/multiple functions and I couldn't find any
documentation that explained how to switch them.

e.g. (contrived example), if a bit was MOSI for an SPI interface or DIO on
port C, I had no idea which one it defaulted to and how to use it for the
alternate function.

I got it to work for basic I/O, but it's obviously capable of much more.

~~~
makomk
If you're running Linux on it, I believe you need to use device tree overlays.
See [http://kilobaser.com/blog/2014-07-28-beaglebone-black-
device...](http://kilobaser.com/blog/2014-07-28-beaglebone-black-
devicetreeoverlay-generator)

------
schappim
As one of Arduino's very first distributors
([http://littlebirdelectronics.com](http://littlebirdelectronics.com)), this
explains the total disarray we've seen with communicating (what we only now
know is two) companies. I'm shocked that Massimo hasn't contacted their
partners (like us) to tell them what was going on!

~~~
whiskers
Totally off-topic but we'd love better coverage down-under (as would our
customers!) if you'd be interested in potentially distributing some of our
range. :-)

We do mostly Raspberry Pi stuff including HATs and cases which we manufacture
in our own workshop in Sheffield, UK:
[http://shop.pimoroni.com/collections/raspberry-
pi-2](http://shop.pimoroni.com/collections/raspberry-pi-2) and
[http://shop.pimoroni.com/collections/hats](http://shop.pimoroni.com/collections/hats)

My e-mail is in my profile if you're up for it!

------
TazeTSchnitzel
Rather than fight over the name, it may be more productive to choose a new
name, trademark it, and get out a new generation under that name from an
existing friendly manufacturer (Sparkfun?)

~~~
pjc50
The name is the valuable thing, though; the hardware design is old and heavily
cloned already.

~~~
TazeTSchnitzel
If you tell people you changed name, you could keep the reputation?

~~~
bduerst
In theory, yes - but in practice it rarely works that way.

Brands switch names to be forgotten (Comcast -> Xfinity, Blackwater -> Xe)

~~~
samatman
If one is truly vile, it can take a couple tries.

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Academi](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Academi)

------
iwwr
In the mean time, if you're interested in solidly-designed and open-source
arduino clones, you can check out those over at Olimex:

[https://www.olimex.com/Products/Duino/AVR/OLIMEXINO-32U4/ope...](https://www.olimex.com/Products/Duino/AVR/OLIMEXINO-32U4/open-
source-hardware)

[https://www.olimex.com/Products/Duino/AVR/OLIMEXINO-328/open...](https://www.olimex.com/Products/Duino/AVR/OLIMEXINO-328/open-
source-hardware)

The second one has a better voltage regulator (9-30V input) and higher safe
temperature range.

------
enricobruschini
Had the chance to meet Massimo quickly long time ago; a truly passionate
innovator and honest at hearth. I'm so sorry to read this story and I feel as
much proud of what he did as much disappointed and disgusted for the "dark
side" of the story. #keepPushing Massimo!

~~~
vanderZwan
I can say the same about David Cuartielles, who's I'm sort of a colleague with
at Malmö University. Rarely see him, but he's a great guy.

------
scriptproof
If I well understood, it is recommended now to support the team to buy a clone
rather that an original Arduino?

~~~
kefka
Absolutely. Arduino (both of them) have dropped the ball. Atmels are great for
small low-everything projects. But once you move up to dealing with more
complex data, they just don't have the horsepower... And when they do, you end
up with the Arduino Yun, which is a binary blob of closed sourceness. Might as
well go with a RasPi/uno combo for best of both worlds.

Since the Chinese have been innovating here a lot, here's some links to get
you started. And yes, I like AliExpress and Ali Baba.

Pro mini $1.68 [http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Pro-Mini-Module-
Atmega328-5V-...](http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Pro-Mini-Module-
Atmega328-5V-16M-For-Arduino-Compatible-With-Nano/2021666535.html)

Nano $2.52 [http://www.aliexpress.com/item/1PCS-Nano-3-0-controller-
comp...](http://www.aliexpress.com/item/1PCS-Nano-3-0-controller-compatible-
with-nano-CH340-USB-driver-NO-CABLE-NANO-V3-0/2035011839.html)

Uno $3.15 [http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Best-prices-
UNO-R3-MEGA328P-f...](http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Best-prices-
UNO-R3-MEGA328P-for-Arduino-Compatible-Free-Shipping-
Dropshipping/32213964945.html)

Mega $9.85 [http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Freeshipping-
Mega-2560-R3-Meg...](http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Freeshipping-
Mega-2560-R3-Mega2560-REV3-ATmega2560-16AU-Board-USB-Cable-compatible-for-
arduino-good-quality/1304207708.html)

~~~
upofadown
The RPi is based on a 32 bit processor and complex operating software. Great
for things that need a web interface or have to interact with complex
protocols. You wouldn't consider something like a RPi if you could get the
reliability and ease of implementation of a simple program running on an 8 bit
processor.

~~~
kefka
I agree.

Where the Rpi<>Arduino combo comes in is where you need PWM and analog inputs
in an easy form factor. Arduino talks to RPi over USB serial, and is easy to
script. The Arduino can be the controller interface while logic can be done on
the RPi.

Also if you're doing computation expensive things (like using Arduino to pick
up EEG data), the CPU on an Arduino is sufficient in ferrying the data to a
faster CPU.

~~~
bigiain
I know I'm living in a pretty small world of likeminded people and startup IoT
companies, but it seems to me _everybody_ hits on the idea of "RaspberryPi +
Arduino", then iterates until they end up with some very familiar looking ARM
SOC + Atmel 8 bit microcontroller. It's astoundingly common. (And that's
because it's a really good idea.)

~~~
kefka
What Ive seen in the tight knit IoT communities is the ESP8266 going like
wildfire. Its a crazy little chip, cheap and easy to use with LUA.

And when it finishes FCC tests, will be legal to implement in designs here :)

------
jayess
You can read the federal court filings (so far) here:

[https://www.unitedstatescourts.org/federal/mad/167131/](https://www.unitedstatescourts.org/federal/mad/167131/)

------
smcl
I know that from the story it looks pretty ironclad that Massimo Banzi and the
original Arduino guys (arduino.cc) are on the side of good - and my gut tells
me this is correct - but is there anything from the perspective of
Guillermo/Arduino Srl or are they maintaining radio silence?

~~~
leoc
If you're looking for another side to the story, it seems a good place would
be to ask about the relationship between Arduino and Hernando Barragán, the
inventor of the Wiring
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiring_(development_platform)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiring_\(development_platform\))
language used by Arduino. Banzi supervised Barragán's MIT thesis on Wiring
[http://wiki.wiring.co/images/7/76/Wiring_thesis.pdf](http://wiki.wiring.co/images/7/76/Wiring_thesis.pdf)
.

------
FanaHOVA
I had the pleasure to meet Banzi and be interviewed with him during last
year's Maker Faire in Rome, he sounded really passionate and excited about the
future of Arduino and I believe that while this is a problem, it's in no way
holding them back. They recently joined the 3D printing world with Materia 101
and they're bound to release a new IDE soon-ish. Most people buying Arduinos
in Italy usually have them imported from elsewhere; they also sponsor lots of
events here in Rome, I have 4 boards and I got 3 of them through Maker
Faire/hackathons, I imagine those profits go straight to Arduino (the legit
one).

Wonder why they didn't register the arduino.org domain though...

------
arjn
Wow! I had no idea all this was going on behind the scenes. Hate to see such a
good thing be spoiled by greed and deceit.

~~~
smcl
Agreed, even though we've only seen one side of the story I can't see this
working out well for the guy behind Arduino Srl. He may somehow sneak a win in
court, but the community will likely shun anything he's involved with.

------
perone
One more reason that will make a lot of people to migrate to mbed platform.

~~~
marssaxman
Isn't mbed still stuck with that "cloud IDE" nonsense?

~~~
poseid
indeed, would be interesting to see more gcc coverage for ARM e.g. as in these
examples [https://github.com/muccc/arm-workshop](https://github.com/muccc/arm-
workshop)

------
spiritplumber
I am biased towards Massimo because he's a fellow Italian, but what does this
mean for the Arduino hardware?

~~~
cjbprime
The "defector", Gianluca Martino, is also Italian, no?

~~~
enricobruschini
He's correct, that doesn't make us proud tho

