HACKER Q&A
📣 fehler

Is it legal to use USB vendor IDs assigned to others?


I have a cheap USB keyboard that reports vendor ID as 0x05ac (Apple, Inc). The keyboard has nothing to do with Apple. Can you use USB vendor IDs assigned to others in your product without legal ramifications?

  👤 simonblack Accepted Answer ✓
Vendor ID and device ID together indicate a specific device. If you make a physically and electrically compatible device, it would make sense to also indicate that fact by duplicating the vendor and device IDs.

There's no 'legality' involved in duplicating device codes. "Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.". The practice is widespread of using the same code numbers for interchangeable devices by differing manufacturers: batteries (AAA, AA, 2025, etc), thermionic valves/tubes (6A7, 12AG8, etc), ICs (555, Z80, 8085, etc), and so on and so forth.

👤 linsomniac
"Illegal" and "without legal ramifications" are very different things...

Or, as I tell my kids: "Just because you're right doesn't mean you won't go bankrupt proving it in a court of law."