Hi, Is there a way to password protect the all files/projects created on kicad, in a way that if someone try to copy them to another computer and same kicad version of software, it simple doesn’t open or work, only if you put the same password on that same kicad software?
It’s like a copy protection feature for the designers that use kicad in one factory cannot save files/projects and copy them for sell the same project as they work for another company?
It’s like one time password inserted on kicad, it can be openned and edited and saved files without nothing special, but if not correct password, it cannot open the files nor edit them!
Not that I’ve ever heard of. There has been more concern about how to share projects across different users for collaborative efforts.
It sounds like you need to set up public and private keys so that the files can be accessed internally but won’t work for outsiders?
Bottom line, you can’t stop someone that has legitimate access to files from making a copy after they open them. It sounds as what you really need is access restriction but that’s just my guess.
Features like encryption are outside of the scope of KiCad.
If you want it, then either use the facilities of your operating system (such as disc encryption) or external tools (SSH, VPN, USB sticks with built in encryption, etc)
For what the OP wants, you would have to have the files tied to a licensing dongle or similar so that the project copied elsewhere by someone who had access in the office would not open. I cannot see KiCad ever going in that direction.
…You need lawyers, data governance policies, contracts and even build it into the business risk assessment. This is not a function of software ever and there are far too many loopholes even in what you said now.
For example, if your concern is some overseas factory selling off your design. Protecting KiCad files is completely inadqueate. At some point gerbers need to be generated for actually printing the circuit board and those gerbers are more than enought o knock off your design at any factory. There are even tools purely to edit gerbers without a schematic/pcb design.
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The days when the PCB design was the crown jewel of the product went long ago for anything except microwave. Source code for the microcontrollers and FPGAs is what matters now
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