Calibration services for open-hardware tools

<p>A possible <a class="wikilink" href="/open_hardware_business_model/">open hardware business model</a> is to offer calibration services[<a class="litnote tooltip" href="/literature/@pearce2017">@pearce2017<span class="tooltiptext">Emerging Business Models for Open Source Hardware</span></a>]. For example, even if the design of a tool is open, there can still be value in certifying its accuracy. Non-open processes, trademarks, etc. all build into this direction. Even if the device can be cloned, one still keeps the key of the certification. This is an intermediate approach to <a class="wikilink" href="/artificially_generated_scarcity/">artificially generated scarcity</a>. </p> <p>This practice is not exclusive of open hardware, though. See: <a class="wikilink" href="/how_phillips_protected_ip_by_not_outsourcing_key_manufacturing_components/">How Phillips protected IP by not outsourcing key manufacturing components</a>. The best part of this approach is that having a calibrated device normally is required in contexts that can afford the premium, while leaving the original openness of the project intact.</p>