Obtaining A Vendor ID
A vendor ID is necessary for developing a USB product. The USB-IF is responsible for issuing USB vendor IDs to product manufacturers. Despite the purported non-profit nature of this organisation, the cost for simply issuing this number is a minimum of US$2,000. Additionally, if a manufacturer of a USB device wishes to use the logo then this becomes a 2-year licensing fee. Some microcontroller manufacturers offer a free or low cost sublicense of their vendor ID for development/testing and limited production (generally under 10,000 units). Vendors offering this free service include:
- Dream S.A.S.
- Energy Micro
- FTDI
- Luminary Micro
- Microchip
- NXP
- Silicon Labs
- ST Microelectronics
- Texas Instruments
Read more about this topic: USB Implementers Forum
Famous quotes containing the word obtaining:
“And if the civilized man’s pursuits are no worthier than the savage’s, if he is employed the greater part of his life in obtaining gross necessaries and comforts merely, why should he have a better dwelling than the former?”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)