Knowledge Tree
open-hardware
Also known as: open source hardware, OpenHardware
Facts (43)
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What is open hardware? | Opensource.com opensource.com 14 facts
claimOpen hardware aims to eliminate roadblocks to the design and manufacture of physical goods by enabling people to construct, remix, and share knowledge of hardware design and function.
claimOpen hardware encourages the studying, troubleshooting, modifying, and improving of physical objects.
claimOpen hardware source code should be readily accessible, and its components should be easy for anyone to obtain.
claimOpen hardware, also known as open source hardware, refers to the design specifications of a physical object that are licensed to allow the object to be studied, modified, created, and distributed by anyone.
claimIf a piece of open hardware incorporates software, that software should generally be released under an approved open source license, or the hardware interfaces should be documented to make writing open source software for the hardware as easy as possible.
claimOpen hardware is defined as a set of design principles and legal practices, rather than a specific type of object.
claimThe license governing the reproduction of open hardware must allow for the modification and distribution of design files in a way that allows others to easily obtain them.
claimCopyright law applies to open hardware source code and design documentation, while patent law applies to design processes and material technologies.
claimOpen hardware is defined by the goal of making an object as easy to remix and reproduce as possible.
claimUsers with access to the necessary tools can update, improve, and fix bugs in the software and physical design of open hardware, and they may share these modifications.
claimOpen hardware can encompass a wide variety of objects, including automobiles, chairs, computers, robots, and houses.
claimOpen hardware must be accompanied by documentation, including design files and source code.
claimTrademark law applies to the branding names and logos of open hardware.
claimThe source code for open hardware, which includes schematics, blueprints, logic designs, and Computer Aided Design (CAD) files, is available for modification or enhancement by anyone under permissive licenses.
Open Hardware Licenses - P2P Foundation Wiki wiki.p2pfoundation.net Jun 17, 2015 10 facts
claimThe TAPR Open Hardware License, the Simputer GPL (SPGL), the Balloon Licence, and the Hardware Design Public Licence (HDPL) are examples of licenses used for open hardware.
perspectiveJonathan Kuniholm warns that the open hardware community's current approach of prioritizing license discussions over establishing a legal foundation risks creating a "poorly designed building" that could collapse and harm future strategies.
perspectiveThe author posits that direct copies of open hardware projects often fail to compete effectively because they lack the service, support, and upgrade value provided by the original creators.
perspectiveJonathan Kuniholm proposes two potential paths for establishing a robust legal basis for open hardware licenses: (1) maintaining a registered trademark combined with a community adhering to open hardware principles, or (2) creating an SKDB-type common file format for sharing physical designs to replicate the legal basis of open source software licenses.
claimThe TAPR Open Hardware License serves as a legal framework for Open Hardware projects.
claimOpen hardware licenses do not replace patents.
claimPatents play a significant role in the manufacturing, distribution, and use of products based on Open Hardware designs, as copyright alone does not cover these activities.
quoteBruce Perens stated: "In promoting Open Hardware, it is important not to unintentionally deceive designers regarding the extent to which their licenses actually can control their designs. Under U.S. law, and law in many other places, copyright does not apply to electronic designs. Patents do. The result is that an Open Hardware license can in general be used to restrict the plans but probably not the manufactured devices or even restatements of the same design that are not textual copies of the original."
perspectiveJonathan Kuniholm asserts that open source software has a clear legal basis in the copyright of source code and executables, whereas open hardware lacks a clear analogue to software source code and the associated copyright protections.
claimOpen hardware projects show a tendency to use standard copyleft licenses like the GPL or CC BY-SA, which protect the design information but do not protect physical hardware built based on those designs.
Brief History of Open Source Hardware Organizations and ... oshwa.org 5 facts
accountThe open source hardware community split into two parallel efforts: one operating under the 'open hardware' banner led by Bruce Perens, and another operating under the 'open source hardware' (OSHW) banner.
referenceSoftware in the Public Interest (SPI) is a non-profit organization created to help other organizations develop and distribute open hardware and software.
accountThe Opening Hardware workshop took place at Eyebeam in New York City in March 2010 to discuss questions and solutions regarding open hardware.
claimBruce Perens stated in 2007 that he intended to operate an Open Hardware certification program under the domain openhardware.org, managed by his not-for-profit organization techp.org, to fulfill his original goals for OpenHardware.
accountBruce Perens trademarked the term 'open hardware' and the domain openhardware.org, committing the domain to the Open Hardware Certification Program.
Defining open hardware - LWN.net lwn.net Oct 18, 2023 3 facts
claimArduino is an open-hardware project that offers microcontroller boards with an accompanying open-source development environment.
claimKoen Vervloesem is the author of the article 'Defining open hardware' published on LWN.net.
claimArduino plays a significant role in the open hardware space through both its hardware and its software ecosystem.
Lesson 3: licenses and open science hardware ucla-imls-open-sci.info Jun 13, 2025 3 facts
claimThe CERN-OHL (CERN Open Hardware Licence) is one of the most widely used licenses for open hardware, providing a suite of strong copyleft, weak copyleft, and permissive alternatives.
procedureWhen evaluating or choosing a license for an open hardware project, researchers should consider the following questions: 1) Does the license clearly allow use, modification, and redistribution? 2) Is the license compatible with the researcher’s goals, such as wide adoption, community building, or commercial integration? 3) Does the project apply the license consistently to all parts of the work, including hardware design files, software/firmware, documentation, and branding? 4) Is attribution required, and are there clauses about how derivatives must be shared?
claimOpen hardware projects are more complex to license than software because they combine multiple types of materials, including physical designs, documentation, firmware, and branding.
Open-source hardware - Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org 3 facts
claimOpen hardware provides a high return on investment for scientific funders because it generally has much lower economic costs compared to conventional hardware.
referenceJérémy Bonvoisin, Robert Mies, Jean-François Boujut, and Rainer Stark published an academic inquiry titled 'What is the 'Source' of Open Source Hardware?' in the Journal of Open Hardware in 2017, examining the definition of 'source' in the context of open hardware.
claimInvestors have an opportunity to shoulder the risk of conventional funders while earning a return by investing in open hardware projects.
Open Source Hardware Association - Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org 1 fact
claimThe Open Source Hardware Association's certification program provides a process for producers of open hardware to indicate that their products meet a uniform and well-defined standard for open-source compliance.
Open-source hardware - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia smoothieware.github.io Apr 15, 2016 1 fact
referenceP. McNamara published an article titled 'Open Hardware' in The Open Source Business Resource in September 2007, focusing on defining open source.
Unknown source 1 fact
claimThe term 'open hardware' can refer to any number of objects.
Exploring Open-Source Software Ecosystems for Hardware ... link.springer.com May 1, 2024 1 fact
claimCERN launched an open hardware initiative in 2023.
bureado/awesome-software-supply-chain-security - GitHub github.com 1 fact
claimTillitis is a project focused on building open, trustworthy hardware and software for secure computation.