[od-discuss] Proposed License - Hacked Apache 2.0

[Andrew Katz]

Dear All

Sorry for launching myself into the list like this, but hello, everybody!

Here's a link to a licence I've been working on and I'd like to propose as a conformant licence. It's intended for open hardware, but can equally be used for software (the eagle-eyed will note that it bears an uncanny resemblance to the Apache 2.0 license).

http://solderpad.org/licenses/SHL-0.5/

The backstory is this: I've been working with a number of open hardware projects, and I'm slowly coming to the conclusion that a permissive licence makes more sense than a copyleft licence. The only two licences currently proposed for covering open hardware are the TAPR and CERN licences, both of which have a copyleft element. I posited the idea of using Apache as a base, and taking a look at it, it is remarkably simple to convert it to cover hardware.

Andrew Back at Solderpad has kindly agreed to host it.

The Apache Foundation are aware of the licence, and several members are quite keen to adopt it, but the current issue is that they do not currently have a hardware project which is a suitable candidate for licensing in this way (although I am actively looking to find one). I have also discussed the licence with Larry Rosen, who has made  number of (largely useful) suggestions.

The licence differs from Apache mainly in that it covers additional forms of IP which are not covered by Apache (such as database extraction right), and also adjusts the terminology slightly to make it more understandable in a hardware context.

The preamble allows optional licensing under a non-ported Apache licence, for those who have a requirement for a more commonly used licence.

I'd welcome any comments on the licence, and would like it to be proposed for conformance. I don't believe that any hardware licence has yet been approved by any credible entity such as the FSF or OSI, so I would be honoured to have the OKN be the first to approve a hardware licence compatible with open principles!

Andrew Back is also setting up a wiki which will contain the licence and provide a more open forum for suggestions. There is also (as with Apache) a contributor license agreement which I have likewise adapted, but to keep things simple, I was proposing to stick to the licence itself.

Best wishes


Andrew


Andrew Katz
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