[License-discuss] CERN Open Hardware Licence 2.0

Sun Feb 23 19:36:03 UTC 2020

Hi Andrew,

Lest you think this has just fallen into the abyss, I am still working
through your licenses. Please continue sharing.

Thanks,
Van

__________________________
Van Lindberg
van.lindberg at gmail.com
m: 214.364.7985

On Thu, Feb 20, 2020, 8:45 PM Andrew Katz <andrew.katz at moorcrofts.com>
wrote:

> Hi All
>
> I’m emailing to gauge reactions with a view to potentially submitting the
> suite of CERN Open Hardware Licences for OSI approval. Version 2 has been
> several years in gestation, and after some major re-writes, consulting with
> many different communities in the world of open hardware, and putting a lot
> of work, we think we’re ready to release Version 2 to the world. You can
> see the relevant drafts and supporting materials here:
> https://www.ohwr.org/project/cernohl/wikis/CERN-OHL-v2-draft
>
> There is no longer a single CERN-OHL: it’s become clear to us that
> different use-cases have different needs, and so do different communities,
> so we have now produced a suite of three closely-related licences,
> CERN-OHL-S (which is the successor to the previous versions), CERN-OHL-W
> (which provides a weaker, more LGPL-like implementation of its
> reciprocal/copyleft obligations), and CERN-OHL-P (which is a permissive
> variant, intended to operate in a way similar to Apache).
>
> The obvious objection is that the CERN-OHL licences are hardware licences,
> so why would we want to submit them for review as Open Source Software
> Licences? The reason is that hardware and software are tending to converge.
> Much of the hardware for which people are adopting the CERN-OHL also has
> unarguably software elements, such as firmware, and we wanted it to be
> possible for users of the CERN-OHL to license their entire design,
> including the software elements, under the same licence, if they so wished.
>
> Another more subtle reason is that in the domain of silicon chip design,
> code written in hardware description languages like Verilog looks very
> similar to computer software, and already a great deal of HDL designs have
> been released under OSI-approved licences such as BSD and Apache. Verilog
> code is compiled (if the target is an FPGA) into a bitstream which is then
> loaded onto a chip (the FPGA) which then responds to inputs and outputs
> dependent on the bitstream. The language and the bitstream exist solely in
> the digital, non-physical domain. It’s difficult to come up with a
> definition of “software” which does not include HDL, but which does include
> code such as SQL, or font description languages (note that the SIL Open
> Font License is OSI approved).
>
> The fact that some of the software licences used to license hardware
> designs (such as BSD and Apache) are OSI-approved is an important factor in
> their adoption, and we believe that, should the CERN OHL suite of licences
> be so approved, then this will aid the development of open hardware in
> general.
>
> A further factor is that CERN-OHL in the -W and -S variants potentially
> offer an interesting open licensing model purely in the software domain,
> including for use in containers (e.g. for use in Docker), by allowing a
> licensor to choose a reciprocal licence which nonetheless allows components
> within the container to be licensed under more restrictive (e.g.
> proprietary) licences. I can expand on this point on request.
>
> We’re incredibly grateful for the invaluable input we’ve had from a broad
> range of people from the open communities, both hardware and software, and
> we’re looking forward very much to hearing what people on this list have to
> say. If you don’t want to comment publicly, please feel to message us
> privately (contact details can be found by following the link at
> https://www.ohwr.org/project/cernohl/wikis/CERN-OHL-v2-draft).
>
> All the best
>
>
> Andrew
>
>
>
> Andrew Katz
> Partner
>
>
> *Moorcrofts LLP*
>
> andrew.katz at moorcrofts.com
> +44 (0) 1628 470000 (Phone)
> +44 (0) 1628 470003 (Direct Dial)
> +44 (0) 7970 835001 (Mobile)
>
> Thames House, Mere Park, Dedmere Road, Marlow, Bucks SL7 1PB
>
> <https://www.moorcrofts.com>
>
>
> *Corporate Law | Technology Law | Commercial Law | Employment Law |
> Employee Incentivisation & Share Schemes | Intellectual Property Law |
> Commercial Property Law | Secured Lending*
>
> <https://moorcrofts.com/moorcrofts-named-finalists-in-women-in-business-awards/>
> <https://moorcrofts.com/moorcrofts-named-finalists-in-women-in-business-awards/>
> <https://moorcrofts.com/moorcrofts-named-finalists-in-women-in-business-awards/>
> Registered in England & Wales OC 311818 Authorised and Regulated by the
> Solicitors Regulation Authority
> This email is confidential. If you are not the intended recipient, please
> let us know. we store email addresses and the names of addressees to assist
> with future correspondence.
> Please be aware of the increase in fraud and cyber crime. any email that
> appears to come from Moorcrofts LLP which provides different bank details
> or indicates a change of our bank details is unlikely to be genuine. You
> should not act on any information contained in the email or reply to it.
> Instead please contact us immediately to check our account details
>
> _______________________________________________
> License-discuss mailing list
> License-discuss at lists.opensource.org
>
> http://lists.opensource.org/mailman/listinfo/license-discuss_lists.opensource.org
>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.opensource.org/pipermail/license-discuss_lists.opensource.org/attachments/20200223/638c6831/attachment-0001.html>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image24a56d.PNG
Type: image/png
Size: 2866 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://lists.opensource.org/pipermail/license-discuss_lists.opensource.org/attachments/20200223/638c6831/attachment-0005.PNG>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image1f58d6.PNG
Type: image/png
Size: 42795 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://lists.opensource.org/pipermail/license-discuss_lists.opensource.org/attachments/20200223/638c6831/attachment-0006.PNG>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image21ba1a.PNG
Type: image/png
Size: 44671 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://lists.opensource.org/pipermail/license-discuss_lists.opensource.org/attachments/20200223/638c6831/attachment-0007.PNG>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: imagee91eb5.PNG
Type: image/png
Size: 197622 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://lists.opensource.org/pipermail/license-discuss_lists.opensource.org/attachments/20200223/638c6831/attachment-0008.PNG>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image1f58d6.PNG
Type: image/png
Size: 42795 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://lists.opensource.org/pipermail/license-discuss_lists.opensource.org/attachments/20200223/638c6831/attachment-0009.PNG>