Thanks everyone for the feedback during the beta testing. I’m working on release soon. I’ll keep you informed.
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Many thanks for all your hard work on this skill, Chris. It’s been working extremely well ever since installation.
Thanks for the echo integration. I have been using the voice commands now for weeks to months now. The most difficult part is just getting the commands right. I have been able to open and close both doors and check for simple status on a regular basis.
During submission of the Garadget-Alexa skill to Amazon, Amazon requested, amongst other things, written authorisation from Garadget for me to use the Garadget brand and icons as the skill was NOT written by Garadget.
Although throughout development Garadget never expressed concern about branding (they were asked twice) and freely supplied the icons used by me, they refused to supply Amazon authorisation. Garadget required that the effective ownership of the code be transferred to them and the skill published under their name, removing my intellectual property rights. However, they would “graciously” allow me to continue developing “their” code.
This is unacceptable to me and therefore this Alexa skill will not be published.
Thanks to all for the beta trial and feedback.
Chris, thanks for your great work on the Echo skill.
It is unfortunate we weren’t able to find an agreeable arrangement.
Until another option becomes available, Garadget users can rely on Alexa integration via IFTTT.
In short, Amazon’s trademark requirements put us in front of following choices (Chris, correct me if I’m misrepresenting the situation):
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Publish the skill as non-official community contribution - accepted by me, rejected by Chris mainly because single word invocation “Garadget” would not be permitted.
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Publish the skill as official Garadget software - accepted by me with non-revocable technical means to oversee the development. Accepted by Chris as long as he retains the complete control of the system. We couldn’t find the arrangement that would satisfy all the requirements.
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Not publish the skill - chosen course of action.
Garadget has no interest in taking over the ownership of any of the community-contributed intellectual property, but the liability that comes with the official status of the software has to come with the way to review and revoke the code if at any point it doesn’t meet security or privacy expectations. The access is also necessary to ensure the availability of the service and provide the customer support.
Garadget’s branding is allowed in community-contributed software but it doesn’t imply sponsorship or official endorsement.
Amazon just needed a letter to say you were ok with me using the branding.
I asked you twice early in development to use the branding and you agreed. I asked to use icons and you provided them.
Why did you change your mind just before release and make a grab for the code?
Very sad.
Chris,
No change of mind on my part. I’m not opposed to the use of the Garadget’s branding in community contributed clients and I provided the icons to all third party developers who asked. I also have no interest in taking over anybody’s code and happily open mine. I just can’t take the risk of endorsing your code as official Garadget software without having any oversight.
Publish it as community contribution or suggest some other way for me to not take the blind liability and I’ll be all over it.
Chris,
Here’s an idea: how about I write Amazon a letter saying that you have Garadget’s permission to use its logo and trademark name for invocation as long as metadata makes it clear that the skill is not officially endorsed or sponsored by the company. The title will have to be something like “Garadget skill by Chris” and description clearly stating that users are trusting a third party developer.
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The above explains why I have had such a crappy time trying to open and close my doors over the past couple of days. They won’t.
I hope this get worked out as I was just getting used to the convenience of being able to verbally open my garage doors as I prepared to leave for my drive.
The effort was fantastic and I hope a resoulution can be found.
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Any updates on when/if this gets resolved? I use this regularly and was about to launch this in all my houses.
Commands are no longer working with Alexa.
So the skill is now named Garbage with an invocation command: superdooropenerthingy?
Can someone please fix this
Eric,
Can you please post a screenshot of it?
When I saw this on my phone i figured something was awry.
Thank you, Eric.
I suppose this means that the productive resolution in this matter is unlikely.
The irony of this… priceless.
Ok, I’ll get the Alexa skill on top of my todo list.
I think, unfortunately, that you are entirely correct. It is foolish to expect you to work for free. They just found out that you get what you pay for. Literally.
That being said, I would submit a bill to them for your time and tell them that in return for paying it you will “graciously” allow them to use your code on an exclusive basis. I was a consultant programmer for 20 years, and that’s the way it works. Make the bill reasonable and they might just go along with it. They would be making a big mistake not to.
Phil,
Payment wasn’t an issue in this matter at any point. As with most other Garadget integrations, the community member agreed to publish the code he created for himself so it can be enjoyed by other users. The implementation wasn’t cleared for publishing by the platform in the legal status that would work for involved parties.
After developer’s hostile act towards the community beta testers, I will not “go along with it” even if the code was now offered for free. In-house implementation is in the works since yesterday. Please stay tuned for the announcement.
@garadget: Hey Denis, if you develop Alexa skill now … Did you know, Alexa now supports special API for Door/Unlock ? Regards Michael
It’s unfortunate that this, like so many other facets of our lives, has devolved into legalistic junk that benefits no one. If there were large sums of money involved, I could ALMOST see it. But, what the heck is the big deal here?! Both parties want to do something to benefit users. Both parties say it’s not about money. Yet because of some legal quagmire, it’s the USERS that are losing out. Perfect.
Yes, I saw the lock feature in announcements, but decided to stick with the custom invocation until they offer support for open/close instead of locked/unlocked.