I am developing a product that will communicate with each other via a cable and would like to use USB micro-B type connectors. However, the communication protocol will NOT be USB compliant. Is there a rule against creating such a product? I am planning to keep the power pins the same as standard USB so it can still be charged via a standard USB port or charger, but the data pins will use a proprietary protocol that cannot communicate with standard USB.
Thanks in advance,
Jason
Best Answer
Using usb connectors in a non-Standard acceptable method is against the USB specifications. Unless you are looking to conform to the USB specifications, there is no technical problem aside from end user problems. Non-standard usb connectors are fairly common, as is non-standard combinations (Usb female A to Usb Female A is common but against specifications, as are USB Y-Cables used to power external harddrives).
The only thing you can't do, according to the USB forum, is have the usb logo or name.