Counterfeit GPIB-USB

[Cafarcious]

Working on a new prototype where a legacy 488 instrument will be used for proof of principle.  Realizing I had nothing to plug the old PCI NI488 card into, I thought I would just pickup a used 488 interface for the prototype work.  Turns out on the USB-GPIB front, almost every eBay listing appears to be counterfeit, most of them branded "National Instruments".  The clones are so common that even the industry surplus listings are end of life clones.

I am just curious by NI (Emerson) takes no action with eBay to end these sales (possibly hundreds of listings)?  It would take a little bit of effort, but I suspect NI could do take downs for all of the eBay sales?

Google Gemini speculates that NI drivers will be able to reject the clones, possibly why there are hundreds for sale now "new" under $100, the sellers trying to dump them quickly?

I ended up finding what looks like a legit surplus ENET/1000 for the prototype build.

[rolfk]

I'm afraid what you ask for would be an almost futile exercise. How would NI determine if an offer is a legit device or counterfeit without buying them and checking them? If they don't do that, how long would it take to get a cease and desist order because they took down an offer that was for a legit device, or at least the seller claims it was, showing a legit one as proof while he has 100ds in the backroom that aren't?

Add to that that GPIB is a legacy technology now. Yes it used to be the cash generator for NI back in the last century. Their GPIB sales paid for pretty much all the developments of other products including LabVIEW, LabWindows and DAQ hardware. Nowadays, it's just a tiny fraction of their sales and the numbers of sold devices got low enough that the margins are by far not as great as they used to be, due to significantly increased manufacturing cost per unit.

Yes, newer software drivers try to check if the device is genuine and simply generate errors if they determine that it isn't. This is of course annoying for users who got a counterfeit device, often without knowing that it is not the real thing. But NI has no obligation to support third party hardware. A significant part of the cost of a hardware interface is the development and also maintenance of its drivers. Counterfeit manufacturers try to undercut that price by avoiding that cost.

[Cafarcious]

Agree, Legacy, cost, small portion of sales are concerns.  However, NI might want to consider defending their trademark(s) and trade dress depending on what active TM they are have at the USPTO.

A high school intern could run an anti-counterfeit effort with some supervision.  If a sale is counterfeit, NI notifies ebay (violation and take down) and NI sends the legal warning letter to the seller.  Not sure it is a counterfeit?  Then just buy one.  A number of the quantity sellers have moved inventory to the U.S. which might make enforcement actions easier.  They might get support from ongoing government anti-counterfeit programs as well.

It would take some effort on NI's part to defend their TM.  Does defending the NI trademark and tradedress (NI logo on blue?) outweigh the cost considering the obsolescence of GPIB, not sure. From the industrial / laboratory surplus I reviewed, clearly professionals were buying the counterfeits now showing up on the used market.

[crossrulz]

How do you know they are counterfeit? I will also throw out that the USB-GPIB-A and USB-GPIB-B are not supported anymore by the NI-488 driver. Only the USB-GPIB-HS and HS+ are still supported. I keep finding a bunch of the B versions around the office and the am caught off-guard when they are not recognized.

[Cafarcious]

>> How do you know they are counterfeit? - This is what Google Gemini suggested, do these checks sound right?

The NI-MAX Self-Test: Use the "Self-Test" button at the top of the screen in NI-MAX (latest version). If the unit is a clone being managed by a modern driver, the self-test will often fail or trigger the "Non-Genuine" popup immediately.

Check the Driver Version: If version 17.6 or newer and hasn't flagged the unit, the "legitimacy" odds go up significantly.

The Flashlight Test: This is the easiest "non-destructive" physical test. Shine a bright light through the blue plastic casing (or through the vents). Genuine NI units have conductive copper paint (a dark, reddish-metallic coating) on the inside for shielding. If it’s just translucent blue plastic inside with no metallic coating, it’s a clone.