Hardware Reference
In-Depth Information
Remarks on Dual Licensing and Closed Parts
licensing
means as a business model. Dual licensing is a mixture of both open and closed
hardware models. Having a combination of some open source hardware and some patented
parts on the same project is considered dual licensing. Having some source files that are
open source and covered by a Creative Commons (CC) license and some that are closed
and covered by a noncommercial (NC) license is considered dual licensing. This strategy
can provide certain advantages, as it enables you to publish some of your design files
withoutmakingthemopensource.Itmeansthatyouaddlicensestothedesignfilesorhard-
ware that forbid certain uses, such as commercial use, production of derivatives, or military
use. With an NC license, the design files are public and open to be studied by everyone and
to be worked with by hobbyists and academics; if people want to make commercial use of
the design, however, they must obtain a license from the project originator. This is not open
source hardware: the Open Source Hardware Definition states that an open source license
cannot discriminate against fields of endeavor or specific business uses. Thus, if you apply
an NC clause to your work, you cannot call your hardware open source.
Perhaps most importantly, NC clauses produce a legal minefield because it is not en-
tirely clear where commercial use starts. If I help a friend produce an NC-licensed device
and beer is exchanged, are we violating the license? In the field of education, it is unclear
whether educators can freely use and make copies of files that are under NC license if
they teach at a for-profit university. Given the many gray areas associated with NC and
dual licensing, why should someone choose your NC-covered hardware over fully open
source hardware that gives the user ultimate freedom and a future full of yet unknown
possibilities?
Publishing your design files without making them fully open source can help you real-
ize some of the advantages mentioned earlier: with open design files your hardware could
be used for education; it might be easier to hack, repair, and recycle; it can help people un-
derstand their technology and sustain their freedom; you would be transparent; and you
could even get some bug fixes or improvements submitted. Nevertheless, this strategy
quickly encounters some limitations.
The world is complex and cases are infinite. There may be instances where dual licens-
ing is the right thing to do and would allow for some important things to happen (such as
sustaining freedom or allowing recycling). Especially when you are thinking about ven-
ture capital, it is very likely that you will be asked to close some of your things. Maybe
dual licensing in some cases might be a good first step toward open sourcing something
fully. Study carefully what you lose and what you win with closing some parts.
