Commercial Use Policy

Draft for discussion only

Some of our members pursue projects at hackspace which are for profit, or with the intent to maybe build a business around them as they progress. Other members are generally supportive of these commercial projects, and excited that they will help to build a more diverse and interesting community. A usual assumption at hackspace when people are asked for advice or involvement in projects and activities is that the input is requested for non-commercial purposes. The following guiding principles are given for members with commercial intentions to avoid misunderstanding and upset.

Please remember that hackspace is not a business incubator or a commercial service organisation and if you start making extensive commercial use of our facilities then it's probably time for you to find/rent/buy your own workshop space. Nearby Park Royal Open Workshop (POW) offers paid rent-a-bench workshop facilities which may be useful as businesses outgrow the hackspace, and our landlord The Republic of Park Royal (RoPR) offers a range of small and medium studios/ workshops for rent for those who need a permanent presence.

Commercial means

You're being paid at all for this project, regardless of if you make a profit or not or;
You are expecting to sell work based on this project in the future or;
You are doing this project to increase your business profile or provide publicity, marketing materials or tools/equipment for your business or;
You've been asked to do this by your employer

Tell members if your project is commercial

It is an important design parameter, especially if you are making more than one of a product.
Some members may choose not to be involved in commercial projects
Avoid upset down the line when you are rich and famous
Make clear the title and ownership of any project materials

Make clear the license conditions of your project and contributions

It is generally assumed that activities at hackspace and on the hackspace mailing list are shared under a very permissive license.
If your project is to be released under a more restrictive license, then you should tell people.
Similarly if a member’s contribution to someone else’s project is under restricted license, they should make this clear.
If a member has not been informed in advance of the more restrictive license and consented to it then that member's choice of license will prevail, which may conflict with your commercial goals!
Nothing done at hackspace can be assumed to be secret, there are security cameras, there are likely to be other people around, others may walk in at any time. If secrecy is needed for your project or it's subject to non-disclosure agreements, hackspace is not the right place to be working on it.

Share financial success with hackspace

It is expected that some measure of reward from the success of commercial projects supported by the member community would return to hackspace. Remember us when you are rich and famous!
Bare in mind that you're making use of volunteer work in keeping hackspace running smoothly that businesses normally have to pay for, such as cleaning, building maintenance, machine maintenance and expertise. Some of those volunteers might not be OK with their efforts being used to support activities you expect to profit from so please be sensitive to these concerns, being generous in sharing your profits and your efforts in maintaining and cleaning the space will help.
Please be aware that there are different material / usage charges for commercial users, and that members using the workshop as a production environment should consider paying more on a monthly basis than the recommended donation.

Use of the hackspace name, image and brand

As a membership community, hackspace does not usually develop product in its own name, so the hackspace name and logo should not normally be attached to your product
hackspace has no responsibilities or liabilities for any projects, products, or services undertaken by hackspace members.
It would be preferable that any publicity mentioning hackspace should use our current messaging, and be positive, considerate and follow the hackspace values.
Any use of the hackspace logo should be passed by the directors.
Photography for commercial uses inside hackspace isn't normally allowed and under no circumstances should be used to suggest any endorsement from hackspace or to suggest that hackspace's facilities are exclusively yours.

Working around other people

Commercial scale activities can easily take up a lot of time on machines; hackspace is mainly for hackers and tinkerers, so try not to hog the machines and be willing to give way to others
You cannot be guaranteed access to machines, others may be using them, they may break, they may run out of essential consumables. We're a voluntary group not a commercial support organisation so although we do our best to keep things running smoothly, you can't expect access to or repair of machines to be done to suit your schedule.

Consideration and communication are the key factors to successfully sharing commercial projects within the hackspace community.