Hardware Reference
In-Depth Information
Source files must be licensed openly so that people may copy and disseminate how to
create the open source hardware, since the hardware is derived from the source. The li-
censing structure for source files relies on copyright because source files are generally
written or drawn. The source files must have an open copyright alternative or copyleft ap-
plied. Popular licenses for source files are CC-BY, CC-BY-SA (noncommercial [NC] is
not appropriate on source files), GNU, Apache, and BSD, to name a few. Not only is this
a legal standard for open sourcing your hardware, but a license also clarifies the intent of
the creator.
At this time, there is no real “industry standard” for licensing open hardware, which
makes matters even more complicated. You will want to look at the various types of li-
censes available, and try to find one that covers what is important to you, in your specific
project. As with a lot of things, one size doesn't fit all when it comes to licensing. If you
are feeling a bit overwhelmed, look at how some of your favorite open hardware projects
license their work (or don't). At the very least, the existence of multiple licensing struc-
tures has started a dialogue within the open source hardware community about why or
how people or communities choose to license their projects. This subject is comprehens-
ively covered in
Chapter 3
,
Licensing Open Source Hardware
.
One practice that is not a
licensing standard, but rather simply states your intention of following the Open Source
Hardware Definition, is to use the open source hardware logo (
Figure 14.2
) on the hard-
ware itself, along with the relevant source files, webpage, and other documentation.
Chapter 10
,
Physical Materials
,
provides many examples of the various types of hard-
ware and the source files that may go along with them. In addition, the Best Practices
1
outline what constitutes original design files and give several examples of original design
files and auxiliary design files. Examples of original design files include the following:
2D drawings or computer-aided design (CAD) files, such as those used to describe
two-dimensional laser-cut, vinyl-cut, or water-jet-cut parts, in their original format.
Example formats: native 2D design files saved by Corel Draw (.cdr), Inkscape
(.svg), Adobe Illustrator (.ai), and AutoCAD.
3D designs that can be 3D printed, forged, injection molded, extruded, machined,
and otherwise fabricated. Example formats: native files saved by SolidWorks (.sld-
prt, .sldasm) and Rhino.
Circuit board CAD files such as capture files (schematics) and printed-circuit
board (layout) design files. Example formats: native files saved by Eagle, Altium,
KiCad, and gEDA.
Component libraries (e.g., symbol, footprint, fastener) necessary for native modi-
fication of CAD files.
