USB Implementers Forum

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USB Implementers Forum
AbbreviationUSB-IF
Founded1995;30 years ago (1995) [1]
93-1296452 [2]
Legal status 501(c)(6) professional association [2]
Headquarters Beaverton, Oregon, U.S. [2]
Coordinates 45°29′31″N122°49′58″W / 45.492060°N 122.832878°W / 45.492060; -122.832878
Jeff Ravencraft [3]
Revenue$4,789,113 [2] (2015)
Expenses$4,579,090 [2] (2015)
Employees0 [2] (2015)
Volunteers57 [2] (2015)
Website www.usb.org/about

USB Implementers Forum, Inc. (USB-IF) is a nonprofit organization created to promote and maintain USB (Universal Serial Bus), a set of specifications and transmission procedures for a type of cable connection that has since become used widely for electronic equipment. Its main activities are currently the promotion and marketing of USB, Wireless USB, USB On-The-Go, and the maintenance of standards and specifications for the related devices, as well as a compliance program.

Contents

The USB-IF was initiated in 1995 [1] by the group of companies that was developing USB, which was made available first during 1996. The founding companies of USB-IF were Compaq, Digital Equipment Corporation, IBM, Intel, Microsoft, NEC and Nortel. Notable current members include HP, NEC, Microsoft, Apple Inc., Intel, and Broadcom.

The working committees within USB-IF are:

The USB-IF web caters to developers who may register freely for the developer web-forums and access documentation. To be part of a working group, however, a person has to work for a member company or register as a member. The developer forums regulate the development of the USB connector, of other USB hardware, and of USB software; they are not end-user forums.

In 2014, the USB-IF announced the availability of USB-C designs. USB-C connectors can transfer data with rates as much as 10 Gbit/s and provides as much as 100 watts of power. [4]

In 2015, the seven-person board of directors, with Jeff Ravencraft as USB-IF President and Chief Operating Officer, consisted of representatives of Apple Inc., HP Inc., Intel Corporation, Microsoft Corporation, Renesas Electronics, STMicroelectronics, and Texas Instruments. [2]

In 2020, USB-IF announced updated USB Device Class Definition for MIDI Devices, Version 2.0, for MIDI 2.0 devices. [5]

Vendor ID issuance

A vendor identification is necessary for obtaining a certification of compliance from the USB-IF. The USB-IF is responsible for issuing USB vendor identification numbers to product manufacturers. The cost for issuing this number is US$6,000 per year. Additionally, the use of a trademarked USB logo to identify certified devices requires a license fee of US$3,500 for a 2-year term. [6] Some microcontroller manufacturers offer a free or low cost sublicense of their vendor ID for development/testing and limited production (generally less than 10,000 units). Vendors offering this free service include:

Alternatively, many members of the open source community promote the use of USB VID 0xF055 (which looks when written like "FOSS") for open-source hardware projects. Although this VID is not registered to any company (as of October 2015), the USB-IF have not released any confirmation about reserving it for this particular purpose. [16] [17]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Members". USB.org. USB Implementers Forum, Inc. Retrieved 13 July 2018.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Form 990: Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax". USB Implementers Forum. Guidestar. December 31, 2015.
  3. ↑ "About". USB Implementers Forum. Retrieved February 5, 2018.
  4. ↑ "USB 3.0 Promoter Group Announces USB Type-C Connector Ready for Production" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 27 May 2017.
  5. ↑ "USB-IF Publishes USB Device Class Specification for MIDI Devices v2.0". Valdosta Daily Times. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
  6. ↑ How to get a vendor ID from the USB-IF
  7. ↑ "Dream S.A.S. USB Vendor ID Application" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 October 2021. Retrieved 13 May 2011.
  8. ↑ Energy Micro Application for USB PID Sublicense Archived 16 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine
  9. ↑ "FTDI USB Vendor ID Application" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 January 2010. Retrieved 13 May 2011.
  10. ↑ Luminary Micro (now part of Texas Instruments) USB Vendor ID Application
  11. ↑ Application for Sub-License to Microchip Universal Serial Bus Vendor ID
  12. ↑ NXP to offer global USB Vendor ID program
  13. ↑ Silicon Labs USB Vendor ID Application
  14. ↑ "STMicroelectronics USB Vendor ID Application". Archived from the original on 11 October 2016. Retrieved 22 March 2013.
  15. ↑ Texas Instruments USB Vendor ID Application
  16. ↑ USB IMPLEMENTERS FORUM SAYS NO TO OPEN SOURCE
  17. ↑ By (3 April 2015). "USB PIDs For All". Hackaday. Retrieved 2 May 2023.
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