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TAPR-OHL-1.0 14KB

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  1. The TAPR Open Hardware License
  2. Version 1.0 (May 25, 2007)
  3. Copyright 2007 TAPR - http://www.tapr.org/OHL
  4. PREAMBLE
  5. Open Hardware is a thing - a physical artifact, either electrical or
  6. mechanical - whose design information is available to, and usable by,
  7. the public in a way that allows anyone to make, modify, distribute, and
  8. use that thing. In this preface, design information is called
  9. "documentation" and things created from it are called "products."
  10. The TAPR Open Hardware License ("OHL") agreement provides a legal
  11. framework for Open Hardware projects. It may be used for any kind of
  12. product, be it a hammer or a computer motherboard, and is TAPR's
  13. contribution to the community; anyone may use the OHL for their Open
  14. Hardware project.
  15. Like the GNU General Public License, the OHL is designed to guarantee
  16. your freedom to share and to create. It forbids anyone who receives
  17. rights under the OHL to deny any other licensee those same rights to
  18. copy, modify, and distribute documentation, and to make, use and
  19. distribute products based on that documentation.
  20. Unlike the GPL, the OHL is not primarily a copyright license. While
  21. copyright protects documentation from unauthorized copying, modification,
  22. and distribution, it has little to do with your right to make, distribute,
  23. or use a product based on that documentation. For better or worse, patents
  24. play a significant role in those activities. Although it does not prohibit
  25. anyone from patenting inventions embodied in an Open Hardware design, and
  26. of course cannot prevent a third party from enforcing their patent rights,
  27. those who benefit from an OHL design may not bring lawsuits claiming that
  28. design infringes their patents or other intellectual property.
  29. The OHL addresses unique issues involved in the creation of tangible,
  30. physical things, but does not cover software, firmware, or code loaded
  31. into programmable devices. A copyright-oriented license such as the GPL
  32. better suits these creations.
  33. How can you use the OHL, or a design based upon it? While the terms and
  34. conditions below take precedence over this preamble, here is a summary:
  35. * You may modify the documentation and make products based upon it.
  36. * You may use products for any legal purpose without limitation.
  37. * You may distribute unmodified documentation, but you must include the
  38. complete package as you received it.
  39. * You may distribute products you make to third parties, if you either
  40. include the documentation on which the product is based, or make it
  41. available without charge for at least three years to anyone who requests
  42. it.
  43. * You may distribute modified documentation or products based on it, if
  44. you:
  45. * License your modifications under the OHL.
  46. * Include those modifications, following the requirements stated
  47. below.
  48. * Attempt to send the modified documentation by email to any of the
  49. developers who have provided their email address. This is a good
  50. faith obligation - if the email fails, you need do nothing more
  51. and may go on with your distribution.
  52. * If you create a design that you want to license under the OHL, you
  53. should:
  54. * Include this document in a file named LICENSE (with the appropriate
  55. extension) that is included in the documentation package.
  56. * If the file format allows, include a notice like "Licensed under
  57. the TAPR Open Hardware License (www.tapr.org/OHL)" in each
  58. documentation file. While not required, you should also include
  59. this notice on printed circuit board artwork and the product
  60. itself; if space is limited the notice can be shortened or
  61. abbreviated.
  62. * Include a copyright notice in each file and on printed circuit
  63. board artwork.
  64. * If you wish to be notified of modifications that others may make,
  65. include your email address in a file named "CONTRIB.TXT" or
  66. something similar.
  67. * Any time the OHL requires you to make documentation available to
  68. others, you must include all the materials you received from the
  69. upstream licensors. In addition, if you have modified the
  70. documentation:
  71. * You must identify the modifications in a text file (preferably
  72. named "CHANGES.TXT") that you include with the documentation.
  73. That file must also include a statement like "These modifications
  74. are licensed under the TAPR Open Hardware License."
  75. * You must include any new files you created, including any
  76. manufacturing files (such as Gerber files) you create in the
  77. course of making products.
  78. * You must include both "before" and "after" versions of all files
  79. you modified.
  80. * You may include files in proprietary formats, but you must also
  81. include open format versions (such as Gerber, ASCII, Postscript,
  82. or PDF) if your tools can create them.
  83. TERMS AND CONDITIONS
  84. 1. Introduction
  85. 1.1 This Agreement governs how you may use, copy, modify, and
  86. distribute Documentation, and how you may make, have made, and
  87. distribute Products based on that Documentation. As used in this
  88. Agreement, to "distribute" Documentation means to directly or indirectly
  89. make copies available to a third party, and to "distribute" Products
  90. means to directly or indirectly give, loan, sell or otherwise transfer
  91. them to a third party.
  92. 1.2 "Documentation" includes:
  93. (a) schematic diagrams;
  94. (b) circuit or circuit board layouts, including Gerber and other
  95. data files used for manufacture;
  96. (c) mechanical drawings, including CAD, CAM, and other data files
  97. used for manufacture;
  98. (d) flow charts and descriptive text; and
  99. (e) other explanatory material.
  100. Documentation may be in any tangible or intangible form of expression,
  101. including but not limited to computer files in open or proprietary
  102. formats and representations on paper, film, or other media.
  103. 1.3 "Products" include:
  104. (a) circuit boards, mechanical assemblies, and other physical parts
  105. and components;
  106. (b) assembled or partially assembled units (including components
  107. and subassemblies); and
  108. (c) parts and components combined into kits intended for assembly
  109. by others;
  110. which are based in whole or in part on the Documentation.
  111. 1.4 This Agreement applies to any Documentation which contains a
  112. notice stating it is subject to the TAPR Open Hardware License, and to
  113. all Products based in whole or in part on that Documentation. If
  114. Documentation is distributed in an archive (such as a "zip" file) which
  115. includes this document, all files in that archive are subject to this
  116. Agreement unless they are specifically excluded. Each person who
  117. contributes content to the Documentation is referred to in this
  118. Agreement as a "Licensor."
  119. 1.5 By (a) using, copying, modifying, or distributing the
  120. Documentation, or (b) making or having Products made or distributing
  121. them, you accept this Agreement, agree to comply with its terms, and
  122. become a "Licensee." Any activity inconsistent with this Agreement will
  123. automatically terminate your rights under it (including the immunities
  124. from suit granted in Section 2), but the rights of others who have
  125. received Documentation, or have obtained Products, directly or
  126. indirectly from you will not be affected so long as they fully comply
  127. with it themselves.
  128. 1.6 This Agreement does not apply to software, firmware, or code
  129. loaded into programmable devices which may be used in conjunction with
  130. Documentation or Products. Such software is subject to the license
  131. terms established by its copyright holder(s).
  132. 2. Patents
  133. 2.1 Each Licensor grants you, every other Licensee, and every
  134. possessor or user of Products a perpetual, worldwide, and royalty-free
  135. immunity from suit under any patent, patent application, or other
  136. intellectual property right which he or she controls, to the extent
  137. necessary to make, have made, possess, use, and distribute Products.
  138. This immunity does not extend to infringement arising from modifications
  139. subsequently made by others.
  140. 2.2 If you make or have Products made, or distribute Documentation
  141. that you have modified, you grant every Licensor, every other Licensee,
  142. and every possessor or user of Products a perpetual, worldwide, and
  143. royalty-free immunity from suit under any patent, patent application, or
  144. other intellectual property right which you control, to the extent
  145. necessary to make, have made, possess, use, and distribute Products.
  146. This immunity does not extend to infringement arising from modifications
  147. subsequently made by others.
  148. 2.3 To avoid doubt, providing Documentation to a third party for the
  149. sole purpose of having that party make Products on your behalf is not
  150. considered "distribution,"\" and a third party's act of making Products
  151. solely on your behalf does not cause that party to grant the immunity
  152. described in the preceding paragraph.
  153. 2.4 These grants of immunity are a material part of this Agreement,
  154. and form a portion of the consideration given by each party to the
  155. other. If any court judgment or legal agreement prevents you from
  156. granting the immunity required by this Section, your rights under this
  157. Agreement will terminate and you may no longer use, copy, modify or
  158. distribute the Documentation, or make, have made, or distribute
  159. Products.
  160. 3. Modifications
  161. You may modify the Documentation, and those modifications will become
  162. part of the Documentation. They are subject to this Agreement, as are
  163. Products based in whole or in part on them. If you distribute the
  164. modified Documentation, or Products based in whole or in part upon it,
  165. you must email the modified Documentation in a form compliant with
  166. Section 4 to each Licensor who has provided an email address with the
  167. Documentation. Attempting to send the email completes your obligations
  168. under this Section and you need take no further action if any address
  169. fails.
  170. 4. Distributing Documentation
  171. 4.1 You may distribute unmodified copies of the Documentation in its
  172. entirety in any medium, provided that you retain all copyright and other
  173. notices (including references to this Agreement) included by each
  174. Licensor, and include an unaltered copy of this Agreement.
  175. 4.2 You may distribute modified copies of the Documentation if you
  176. comply with all the requirements of the preceding paragraph and:
  177. (a) include a prominent notice in an ASCII or other open format
  178. file identifying those elements of the Documentation that you
  179. changed, and stating that the modifications are licensed under
  180. the terms of this Agreement;
  181. (b) include all new documentation files that you create, as well as
  182. both the original and modified versions of each file you change
  183. (files may be in your development tool's native file format,
  184. but if reasonably possible, you must also include open format,
  185. such as Gerber, ASCII, Postscript, or PDF, versions);
  186. (c) do not change the terms of this Agreement with respect to
  187. subsequent licensees; and
  188. (d) if you make or have Products made, include in the Documentation
  189. all elements reasonably required to permit others to make
  190. Products, including Gerber, CAD/CAM and other files used for
  191. manufacture.
  192. 5. Making Products
  193. 5.1 You may use the Documentation to make or have Products made,
  194. provided that each Product retains any notices included by the Licensor
  195. (including, but not limited to, copyright notices on circuit boards).
  196. 5.2 You may distribute Products you make or have made, provided that
  197. you include with each unit a copy of the Documentation in a form
  198. consistent with Section 4. Alternatively, you may include either (i) an
  199. offer valid for at least three years to provide that Documentation, at
  200. no charge other than the reasonable cost of media and postage, to any
  201. person who requests it; or (ii) a URL where that Documentation may be
  202. downloaded, available for at least three years after you last distribute
  203. the Product.
  204. 6. NEW LICENSE VERSIONS
  205. TAPR may publish updated versions of the OHL which retain the same
  206. general provisions as the present version, but differ in detail to
  207. address new problems or concerns, and carry a distinguishing version
  208. number. If the Documentation specifies a version number which applies
  209. to it and "any later version", you may choose either that version or any
  210. later version published by TAPR. If the Documentation does not specify
  211. a version number, you may choose any version ever published by TAPR.
  212. TAPR owns the copyright to the OHL, but grants permission to any person
  213. to copy, distribute, and use it in unmodified form.
  214. 7. WARRANTY AND LIABILITY LIMITATIONS
  215. 7.1 THE DOCUMENTATION IS PROVIDED ON AN"AS-IS" BASIS WITHOUT
  216. WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW. ALL
  217. WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY
  218. WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND
  219. TITLE, ARE HEREBY EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMED.
  220. 7.2 IN NO EVENT UNLESS REQUIRED BY APPLICABLE LAW WILL ANY LICENSOR
  221. BE LIABLE TO YOU OR ANY THIRD PARTY FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT,
  222. INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE, OR EXEMPLARY DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF
  223. THE USE OF, OR INABILITY TO USE, THE DOCUMENTATION OR PRODUCTS,
  224. INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO CLAIMS OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
  225. INFRINGEMENT OR LOSS OF DATA, EVEN IF THAT PARTY HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE
  226. POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.
  227. 7.3 You agree that the foregoing limitations are reasonable due to
  228. the non-financial nature of the transaction represented by this
  229. Agreement, and acknowledge that were it not for these limitations, the
  230. Licensor(s) would not be willing to make the Documentation available to
  231. you.
  232. 7.4 You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold each Licensor harmless
  233. from any claim brought by a third party alleging any defect in the
  234. design, manufacture, or operation of any Product which you make, have
  235. made, or distribute pursuant to this Agreement.
  236. ####