THE OPEN SOURCE HARDWARE
Open-source hardware consists of physical artifacts of technology designed and offered by the open design movement.
The term typically refers to tangible machines and other physical systems which are designed and released to the public in such a way that anyone can study, modify, distribute, build, and sell the design or hardware based on that design.
Open-source hardware has much in common with open-source software in that it has many of the same benefits. Open-source hardware is released under the same copyleft licenses that are used for Open Source Software >
As we said, open-source hardware gives people the freedom to study, modify, distribute, build, and sell hardware.
Modify
With the right to modify, individuals can invent and build something better.
Distribute
With the right to distribute, anyone can manufacture and sell the product.
Build
With the right to build, anyone can make the product locally.
Sell
With the right to sell, anyone can profit from the design.
"Open-source hardware encourages innovation and economic progress"
The shared knowledge of how something is made and how something works makes open source information available to everyone. It is a fast and efficient way of conducting research and development. In the long run, open-source hardware encourages innovation and economic progress.
The open-source hardware movement is a young and growing community of people who are working to share the knowledge and designs of physical systems.
It is a way for people to share what they have learned about electronics and make that knowledge available to others. It is about education and collaboration.
Open-source hardware is a philosophy that embraces the sharing of knowledge in the design and building of physical artifacts. It is an alternative to the traditional hardware manufacturing model which relies upon intellectual property protections to limit the dissemination of information. It is a reaction to the over-commercialization of hardware design. It is a way to begin to change the way hardware is developed, distributed, and brought to market.
LICENSE
The license must grant these rights to the greatest extent possible.
Hardware designs which are released under open-source licenses are protected by copyright, but their release is authorized by the copyright holder.
The release may be conditioned on the hardware being used in a particular manner.
The license may also contain restrictions which protect the release of the hardware from being used as a reference to create a design which is functionally identical. The hardware may be released under a variety of licenses, depending on the jurisdiction, the type of hardware, and the intentions of the designer.
