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by jasonjayr 1062 days ago
So; in this specific case, if they have a USB-IF trademarked logo or icon on their device or packaging, then maybe the USB-IF could come along to put some pressure to get a better outcome?

I've seen cheap devices with USB ports --- but no logo. Probably for this very reason.

1 comments

The USB logo is pretty well pointless. All you're paying for is a license for the logo.

Despite USB-IF's efforts to associate that logo with "good" or "safe" or even "compliant" USB devices, I doubt that many consumers know or care.

Part of the reason is that their licensing is pretty pricey unless you're already at the mass manufacturing stage. You have to pay an annual fee for the logo, an annual fee for the VID, and you have to pay to get your widget certified. All so you can use a logo that consumers don't know or care about.

On the other hand, you can implement a USB device without paying a dime to USB-IF. It's super annoying without your own VID, but that's often not even necessary.

So we get cheap Chinese devices with no certification because why would they even bother?