SparkFun? How did they choose that name? What does Wikipedia have to say about that? Well, basically, the “spark” came about due to some of the founders testing a development board that had sparks flying off of it, and fun? “Because it’s fun! Why should someone have to explain fun?” The company’s self-stated aim is to put the fun back into learning electronics… unlike “double-E” (Electrical Engineering) “killer classes.”
20190103/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SparkFun_Electronics
Now, this was an interesting event that happened to SparkFun in the past. The U.S. International Trade Commission intercepted one of SparkFun’s shipments of cheap Chinese multimeters and ruled them to be infringing the trademark on Fluke’s multimeters. They ordered to either send them back (for modifications) or destroy them. The most interesting thing about this is that Fluke was unaware that this was happening until they learned of it from SparkFun’s blog. The way that U.S. trademark and imports law works is such that the U.S. government prepares its own guideline materials to check for infringement and the filer is not completely aware of the legal interceptions and activities that go on in relation to its filed trademarks and such. Additionally, the description of the trademark was a bit ambiguous, so minor misinterpretation can result in severe consequences. Luckily for SparkFun, it has a great community and was able to get some quick recommendations to settle the problem as quickly as possible. Fluke decided to donate some of its multimeters in light of the misunderstanding and the effect it had on SparkFun, while SparkFun was also able to work with a law firm specializing in customs law to find alterative locations to export the multimeters too rather than destroying them.
“Fluke, we love you but you’re killing us.”
20190103/https://www.sparkfun.com/news/1428
“Fluke Responds to Trademark Problems”
20190103/https://www.sparkfun.com/news/1430