Why would someone make an arduino clone? Maybe its sick but because its fun?! I cant speak for limor or the others here who have done so but I genuinely enjoy the attempt to 'build a better mousetrap'. Often my 'clones' really are just for specific pieces Im working on. And Im cool with the idea that I can pretty much do as I please for personal use. But with the current state of ambiguity in the licensing, I really dont know what could happen if I sold a work that used an arduino setup that I made, since I would then be making commercial gain in a sense. Now yeah its not like Im going to get rich making my little arduino ripoffs but all the same these are the types of issues that need to be addressed as the Arduino grows.
I also agree that chinese manufacturing, as long as youre not Hasbro, is superb. But I guarantee with a market share of 10k I doubt any manufacturer is looking to cash in. The arduino serves a niche segment of a niche market. Even if we, the community, are capable of converting half the bs2 users thats still not a terribly huge market all things considered. My point is there is no reason a chinese manuf, or someone acting on their behalf, would have for mass producing the Arduino. Besides the hardware has been too liquid with an update to the board way to often for hugely mass produced run.
Finally, I agree the whole trademark thing really means you have to have the money to enforce it. CC licenses really imply a certain amount of honesty amongst those making derivative works. Like hell I would really be able to enforce my CC work. Beyond that to have certain things TM means the owner is going to enforce it otherwise it is really worth nothing. If you cant enforce it why bother with TM and just leave it open.... take the high road so to speak. Now if the Arduino foundation plans on enforcement, well thats another thing...
BTW, I think this is a good healthy debate... a sign that shows how involved this community is and ultimately how much we care about this. I hope it also illustrates some of the varied concerns that we as users have.
Brian