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Licensing is a way to give people rights that they wouldnРІР‚в„ўt otherwise have to use your intellectual property (IP) and, in return, to place restrictions on how they exercise those rights.

#Open source alternative to meshcam art license#

(Thanks to Michael Weinberg of Public Knowledge for helping us draft this answer.)Р”Р‡irst of all, itРІР‚в„ўs important to understand what a license is. HereРІР‚в„ўs some information to help you make sense of the possibilities. This is a complicated question with no easy answer. Instead, you might say something like РІР‚Сљwe plan to open-source this product in the future.РІР‚Сњ What is a license and how do they apply to hardware? In some cases, you might decide not to publish the design files until sometime after the product has been released thatРІР‚в„ўs fine (unless your product derives from another open-source hardware project whose license requires the open-sourcing of derivatives) but the product isnРІР‚в„ўt open-source hardware until the files are available. You might also consider using a website specifically designed for sharing hardware designs, like Thingiverse. GitHub or Google Code), making them public throughout the design and development process. Others store their files in online version control systems (e.g. Many companies producing open-source hardware publish their design files on their website when the product goes on sale.

When and how should I share my design files? Please note, however, that this is not a substitute for releasing the original files РІР‚вЂњ the core of open-source hardware practice.

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These allow people without access to expensive or proprietary software to make at least some use of your design. For example, PDFs of circuit schematics, Gerbers for circuit board layouts, and IGES or STL files for mechanical objects.

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In this case, itРІР‚в„ўs helpful and encouraged to also offer versions of the design in alternative or intermediate formats that can be viewed or edited with common or free programs. Unfortunately, the original design files for hardware are often in proprietary formats for expensive software tools. For circuit boards, itРІР‚в„ўs the original schematic and board layout files. For mechanical stuff, this means the original CAD files. As the open-source hardware definition explains, that means the version of the files that you would prefer for making changes to the design, not an intermediate or obfuscated version. Open-source hardware means sharing the files needed to build *and* modify your hardware. Open-source hardware has been applied to fashion, furniture, musical instruments, farm machinery, bio engineering and much more. But more and more fields are adopting it and broadening the term РІР‚Сљopen-source hardwareРІР‚Сњ to mean anything physical that has public source files. Initially theР’В definitionР’В was written with electronics and mechanical designs in mind. What do you mean by hardware? What fields are open-source hardware relevant for? We hope this FAQ helps you understand what itРІР‚в„ўs all about and whether it makes sense for you. We think open source hardware is a great way to share knowledge and facilitate development of new products. ThereРІР‚в„ўs also a growing community of companies, individuals, and groups designing and making lots of cool open-source hardware! Some examples include microcontroller development platforms, satellites andР’В 3D printers. The hardwareРІР‚в„ўs source, the design from which it is made, is available in the preferred format for making modifications to it.РІР‚Сњ Note that open-source hardware refers specifically to sharing the digital design files for physical objects while we support other forms of sharing, we think itРІР‚в„ўs important to be clear about the meaning of open-source hardware. Our statement of principles puts it like this: РІР‚СљOpen source hardware is hardware whose design is made publicly available so that anyone can study, modify, distribute, make, and sell the design or hardware based on that design. WhatРІР‚в„ўs a USB vendor ID (VID) and product ID (PID) and what should I do about them? What is open source hardware? How does open-source hardware interact with hardware regulations? Why arenРІР‚в„ўt non-commercial restrictions compatible with open source hardware? What are other best practices for open source hardware?

How does the first to file system affect open source hardware?

What is a license and how do they apply to hardware?