Use of Development Boards in 3rd Party Products

[pkmckneely1]

I am new to ARM. I just purchased a Cortex-M SW development package and noticed that there is a lot of activity around ST's STM32 Nucleo development boards. However, their license agreement states that these boards cannot be integrated into any 3rd party products. Furthermore, none of them have Ethernet which is a must in a design that I have in mind. This brought me to look at the FRDM-K64F and other development boards brought over to NXP from Freescale Semiconductor. I have designed many µ-Controller boards around HCS08 and other Freescale processors. But high speed Ethernet and other issues means that it might make more sense to integrate suitable boards that are already available off the shelf. Does NXP have a policy like ST prohibiting use of their development boards in 3rd party products or does it just make the standard disclaimer for their use in this way?

[Alexis_A]

Hello pkmckneely@technoventure.com,

The following disclaimer is found FRDM-K64F Freedom Module User’s Guide:

NXP makes no warranty, representation, or guarantee regarding the suitability of its products for any particular purpose, nor does NXP assume any liability arising out of the application or use of any product or circuit, and specifically disclaims any and all liability, including without limitation consequential or incidental damages. “Typical” parameters that may be provided in NXP data sheets and/or specifications can and do vary in different applications, and actual performance may vary over time. All operating parameters, including “typicals,” must be validated for each customer application by customer’s technical experts. NXP does not convey any license under its patent rights nor the rights of others. NXP sells products pursuant to standard terms and conditions of sale, which can be found at the following address: nxp.com/SalesTermsandConditions.

Let me know if this helps you.

Best Regards,

Alexis Andalon

[pkmckneely1]

So basically you are saying that NXP does not expressly prohibit users from integrating these boards into 3rd party products. It just does not offer any guarantees. ST expressly forbids anyone to use their boards in 3rd party products and threatens to cancel your account and sets you up for law suits.

[Alexis_A]

Hello pkmckneely@technoventure.com‌,

As you mention we don't prohibit but we don't prohibit and not guaranteed the proper functionality and also all the test certifications will need to be done since the FRDM was created as an evaluation board.

Best Regards,

Alexis Andalon