USB Implementers Forum

USB Implementers Forum, Inc. (USB-IF) is a nonprofit organization created to promote and maintain USB (Universal Serial Bus), a set of specifications and transmission procedures for a type of cable connection that has since become used widely for electronic equipment. Its main activities are currently the promotion and marketing of USB, Wireless USB, USB On-The-Go, and the maintenance of standards and specifications for the related devices, as well as a compliance program.

USB Implementers Forum

Abbreviation	USB-IF
Founded	1995; 30 years ago (1995)[1]
Tax ID no.	93-1296452[2]
Legal status	501(c)(6) professional association[2]
Headquarters	Beaverton, Oregon, U.S.[2]
Coordinates	45.492060°N 122.832878°W / 45.492060; -122.832878
President, Chief Operating Officer	Jeff Ravencraft[3]
Revenue	$4,789,113[2] (2015)
Expenses	$4,579,090[2] (2015)
Employees	0[2] (2015)
Volunteers	57[2] (2015)
Website	www.usb.org/about

The USB-IF was initiated in 1995^[1] by the group of companies that was developing USB, which was made available first during 1996. The founding companies of USB-IF were Compaq, Digital Equipment Corporation, IBM, Intel, Microsoft, NEC and Nortel. Notable current members include HP, NEC, Microsoft, Apple Inc., Intel, and Agere Systems.

The working committees within USB-IF are:

• Device Working Group
• Compliance Committee
• Marketing Committee

The USB-IF web caters to developers who may register freely for the developer web-forums and access documentation. To be part of a working group, however, a person has to work for a member company or register as a member. The developer forums regulate the development of the USB connector, of other USB hardware, and of USB software; they are not end-user forums.

In 2014, the USB-IF announced the availability of USB-C designs. USB-C connectors can transfer data with rates as much as 10 Gbit/s and provides as much as 100 watts of power.^[4]

In 2015, the seven-person board of directors, with Jeff Ravencraft as USB-IF President and Chief Operating Officer, consisted of representatives of Apple Inc., HP Inc., Intel Corporation, Microsoft Corporation, Renesas Electronics, STMicroelectronics, and Texas Instruments.^[2]

In 2020, USB-IF announced updated USB Device Class Definition for MIDI Devices, Version 2.0, for MIDI 2.0 devices.^[5]

Vendor ID issuance

A vendor identification is necessary for obtaining a certification of compliance from the USB-IF. The USB-IF is responsible for issuing USB vendor identification numbers to product manufacturers. The cost for issuing this number is US$6,000 per year. Additionally, the use of a trademarked USB logo to identify certified devices requires a license fee of US$3,500 for a 2-year term.^[6] Some microcontroller manufacturers offer a free or low cost sublicense of their vendor ID for development/testing and limited production (generally less than 10,000 units). Vendors offering this free service include:

• Dream S.A.S.^[7]
• Energy Micro^[8]
• FTDI^[9]
• Luminary Micro^[10]
• Microchip^[11]
• NXP^[12]
• Silicon Labs^[13]
• STMicroelectronics^[14]
• Texas Instruments^[15]

Alternatively, many members of the open source community promote the use of USB VID 0xF055 (which looks when written like "FOSS") for open-source hardware projects. Although this VID is not registered to any company (as of October 2015), the USB-IF have not released any confirmation about reserving it for this particular purpose.^[16][17]

See also

• MTP (Media Transfer Protocol)
• Personal Computer Memory Card International Association (PCMCIA)
• USB On-The-Go
• Wireless USB
• UEFI Forum