Legal

When hardware breaks free

Understanding open source hardware licensing

Seminar 3

13:0015 mins13/11/2026

Open Source Hardware (OSH) is not only an important element of digital commons, as it has become a key enabler of permissionless innovation. Understanding licensing issues is important, however, to explore the maximal potential of OSH.

This talk aims clarifying the main elements of OSH licenses. For instance:

– What open source licenses are available for hardware?
– What are the differences between licenses for software, hardware and data?
– Are there “copyleft” and “permissive (non-reciprocal)” licenses for hardware in the same sense there are for software and data?
– How do you implement a license in an OSH project?

The talk aims professionals and hobbyists working and developing OSH. No previous knowledge on legal topics or OSH is required.