For Hardware Makers, Sharing Their Secrets Is Now Part of the Business Plan - NYTimes.com

Excerpt from an open-source hardware snapshot

"When companies do make hardware free, Mr. Dougherty said, it is not usually altruistic. “It can create competition for your enemy without spending money on a new product,” he said. He noted that IBM went into open-source software in the 1990s, and Microsoft suffered.

Sometimes companies want to kick-start business. Facebook’s open designs have enabled commercial relationships that lower its supply costs as well as speed innovation.

In another stunning example, in June, Elon Musk, the founder and chief executive of Tesla Motors, said he was giving away all his electric car company’s patents, “in the spirit of the open-source movement.”"

For Hardware Makers, Sharing Their Secrets Is Now Part of the Business Plan - NYTimes.com