19. Invention, intellectual property and income¶
This week I worked on determining the intellectual property rights I would assign to my final project.
Assignment¶
Our task for the week was to “develop a plan for dissemination” of our final projects. Additionally, in preparation for our final project presentations we were to: - prepare drafts or [our] summary slide ([named] presentation.png, 1920x1080 [resolution]) - prepare a video clip (presentation.mp4, 1080p HTML5, < ~minute, < ~10MB) - put them in [our] root directory
Research¶
I began my research into this assignment by reviewing the work and choices of Fab Academy students from previous years. This was helpful for both IP protection choice and presentation. I next reviewed the options presented by Neil as IP protection mechanisms (patents, copyrights, trademarks). My final project is ultimately intended for commercial sale, but I always intended for others to be able to access, modify, or build-upon the work freely. My final project is a scaled-down version of what will be a larger home-design, build and production project. The goal of that project will not be to seek significant profit over and above what would be necessary for the replication of the project itself (including materials, labor and infrastructure maintenance). While that, on its face, sounds akin to a non-profit organization, this project would not seek to be a 501(c)(3). For the purposes of protecting the intention of free use of the ideas generated by my work, it seems the Fab License is most appropriate. Our budding Fab Lab at Cooperation Jackson is primarily an institute dedicated to social change, and we see the Fab Lab Network as a transformational vehicle for democratizing technological knowledge, inventinon and fabrication the world over. Should this project develop useful, novel or non-obvious creations, I would want those freely available, particularly to the many Fab Labs around the world with similar interests in helping their local communities.
Fab License: IP Protection¶
Basic Format
(c) Gyasi Williams June 5, 2019
This work may be reproduced, modified, distributed, performed, and displayed for any purpose, but must acknowledge “project name”. Copyright is retained and must be preserved. The work is provided as is; no warranty is provided, and users accept all liability.
Dissemination¶
Cooperation Jackson, the parent organization of our Fab Lab (the Community Production Cooperative), has a significant presence, domestically and internationally, particularly in some political circles. That presence will be key in publicizing the project of selling ecologically-friendly, low-cost, quality housing. Our initial marketing will make use of the existing Cooperation Jackson (www.cooperationjackson.org) website and the website we will develop for the Community Production Cooperative. We will also make use of social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, as well as traditional forms of media: print, television and radio (locally). At the core of an awareness campaign, the Community Production Cooperative will build 3 different demonstration home models, each featuring energy-efficiency, with different designs to highlight single-family use, multi-family use, and mixed use configurations. The combination of physical demonstration models, a multi-faceted digital presence, and word-of-mouth (through presentations at conferences and with interested groups) should generate significant awareness and interest to sell units at a marginal profit.