Bluetooth wireless technology requires developers to abide by an intellectual property license that includes a qualification process. All third parties that manufacture products designed to incorporate Bluetooth technology must go through this qualification process to ensure that the products meets certain standards of operability. Additionally, the intellectual properly license requires all Bluetooth products to meet or exceed listed specifications.
Special Interest Group Agreement
Before the Bluetooth consortium can enforce the qualification process, the manufacturer must sign a Special Interest Group membership agreement. This agreement is a prerequisite for the manufacturer to incorporate Bluetooth technology into products and also includes the intellectual property license. The basic purpose of this process helps to ensure that Bluetooth will continue to work properly between different products made by different manufacturers.
More on the SIG
The Bluetooth Special Interest Group is a nonprofit organization headquartered in the state of Washington. Additionally the SIG has several additional offices located in Asia and Sweden. SIG consists of study groups, expert groups, working groups and committees, and members of SIG may participate in all of these subgroups. SIG also publishes the updated Bluetooth specifications annually and makes these specifications available on the Bluetooth technology homepage.
The Qualification Program
The Bluetooth Qualification Program consists of a verification process that determines if the submitted product meets the specifications established by the Qualification Review Board. This includes declarations of conformance substantiated by the QRB and a physical testing process. The physical testing may occur in any of the testing facilities established around the world. The specifications for qualification remain standardized around the world.
The Qualified Products List
The QPL is a list that includes all the products that have passed the qualification process to include Bluetooth technology in their makeup and functionality. Only a person designated and approved by the QRB can add a product to the QPL. You can access the QPL from the Bluetooth technology home page. As public information, manufacturers of Bluetooth products cannot falsify qualifications or presence on the QPL.
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