... | ... | @@ -127,7 +127,14 @@ free and open-source software world would be a tangible object made |
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thanks to design files licensed under an OSHW licence. So implementing a
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reciprocal licence involves solving the challenge of ensuring that the
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recipient of a piece of hardware gets access to the original design
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files. CERN-OHL-S provides two mechanisms to ensure that:
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files. This is tricky because copyright law (which is the mechanism used
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by most software licences to impose obligations on licensees) does not
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apply to hardware production and distribution. In drafting CERN-OHL-S,
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we have made a special effort to achieve this effect by relying solely
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on existing and applicable rights, and we believe the licence will
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fulfil this part of its purpose in a large number of cases. Read on to
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learn how. CERN-OHL-S provides two mechanisms for a recipient of
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hardware to get hold of design documents:
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- The licence explicitly asks a Licensee to provide an easy way to
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access the design Source to recipients of products when (s)he makes
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... | ... | @@ -154,10 +161,17 @@ Methods to enforce the licence will depend on each case. For example, |
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most of the hardware designs are likely to be stored and distributed in
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the form of design files, i.e. digitally, and doing just about anything
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with them is going to involve copying, at a minimum, which will require
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a licence, and therefore allows the licence to impinge. This is just one
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example involving copyright, but as we said in an answer to another
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question, there may be more rights the licence rests upon in each
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case.
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a licence, and therefore allows the licence to impinge. Once the
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licensee exercises any rights under the licence, the whole licence text
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applies, including obligations at production and distribution time. This
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is just one example involving copyright, but as we said in an answer to
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another question, there may be more rights the licence rests upon in
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each case. It is important for a licensor to understand how the licence
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is intended to work and what can and cannot be achieved for a particular
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design in a particular context. No licence gives licensors 100%
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reassurance of what will happen in court one day, and the CERN OHL is
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not an exception in that
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respect.
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#### Q: My PCB is made of ICs, which are made of plastic, metal and a chip, which is itself made of silicon. How far do I need to go in terms of providing the source designs for all this?
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