Question Simple Question about Open Source Licenses

[Ayman688]

Hi Everyone, Thank you for helping me with these Simple issues. I Have one Simple Question about Open Source Licenses, I want just to know, Can Documentations Or Articles or Even eBooks on the Web be licensed under Open Source Licenses like: Apache-2.0, CERN-OHL1.2+, CERN-OHL2, GPL3+, LGPL3+, MIT, MPL-2.0, SHL0.51+, TAPR-OHL? I am not talking about Creative Commons Licenses, I talk about just these Licenses Wich used for Open Source Hardware, but my Question is just about using them for Documentations and Articles on the WebSites.

For Example, if you looking at this Open Source Electronic Projects Hub WebSite called Hackster.io You will find that Any Project Published by Users Licensed Under one of these Licenses:

Apache License 2.0 (Apache-2.0)
CERN Open Hardware Licence version 1.2 (CERN-OHL1.2+)
CERN Open Hardware License version 2 (CERN-OHL2)
GNU General Public License, version 3 or later (GPL3+)
GNU Lesser General Public License version 3 or later (LGPL3+)
MIT license (MIT)
Mozilla Public License 2.0 (MPL-2.0)
Solderpad Hardware License version 0.51 or later (SHL0.51+)
TAPR Open Hardware License (TAPR-OHL)

For Example, look at these Project:

1) Under GPL3+: https://www.hackster.io/CesarSound/10khz-to-225mhz-vfo-rf-generator-with-si5351-version-2-bfa619

2) Under MIT: https://www.hackster.io/team-matlab...lerting-indoor-iot-air-quality-monitor-5eb90d

3) Under Apache-2.0: https://www.hackster.io/naveenbskumar/voice-recognition-using-psoc6-ble-pioneer-kit-cbe0de


So is that mean the Articles or the Documentations of these Projects are Licensed under these Open Source Licenses? Or not, It's just the Schematic, PCB, Enclosure, and the Firmware are Licensed under the Open Source Licence mentioned in the Project? So the Article or Documentation is Copyghrited?

In this WebSite Users Allowed to share Projects under Creative Commons Licenses as under Open Source Licenses, They need just to Select the License of the Project when Submitting Content.

So Can Documentations Or Articles or Even eBooks on the Web be Licensed under these Open Source Licenses? Thank you very much.

 

[kanewolf]

Hi Everyone, Thank you for helping me with these Simple issues. I Have one Simple Question about Open Source Licenses, I want just to know, Can Documentations Or Articles or Even eBooks on the Web be licensed under Open Source Licenses like: Apache-2.0, CERN-OHL1.2+, CERN-OHL2, GPL3+, LGPL3+, MIT, MPL-2.0, SHL0.51+, TAPR-OHL? I am not talking about Creative Commons Licenses, I talk about just these Licenses Wich used for Open Source Hardware, but my Question is just about using them for Documentations and Articles on the WebSites.

For Example, if you looking at this Open Source Electronic Projects Hub WebSite called Hackster.io You will find that Any Project Published by Users Licensed Under one of these Licenses:

Apache License 2.0 (Apache-2.0)
CERN Open Hardware Licence version 1.2 (CERN-OHL1.2+)
CERN Open Hardware License version 2 (CERN-OHL2)
GNU General Public License, version 3 or later (GPL3+)
GNU Lesser General Public License version 3 or later (LGPL3+)
MIT license (MIT)
Mozilla Public License 2.0 (MPL-2.0)
Solderpad Hardware License version 0.51 or later (SHL0.51+)
TAPR Open Hardware License (TAPR-OHL)

For Example, look at these Project:

1) Under GPL3+: https://www.hackster.io/CesarSound/10khz-to-225mhz-vfo-rf-generator-with-si5351-version-2-bfa619

2) Under MIT: https://www.hackster.io/team-matlab...lerting-indoor-iot-air-quality-monitor-5eb90d

3) Under Apache-2.0: https://www.hackster.io/naveenbskumar/voice-recognition-using-psoc6-ble-pioneer-kit-cbe0de


So is that mean the Articles or the Documentations of these Projects are Licensed under these Open Source Licenses? Or not, It's just the Schematic, PCB, Enclosure, and the Firmware are Licensed under the Open Source Licence mentioned in the Project? So the Article or Documentation is Copyghrited?

In this WebSite Users Allowed to share Projects under Creative Commons Licenses as under Open Source Licenses, They need just to Select the License of the Project when Submitting Content.

So Can Documentations Or Articles or Even eBooks on the Web be Licensed under these Open Source Licenses? Thank you very much.

What benefit or drawback to this licensing are you questioning? I am not an attorney, and if you need a binding answer, that is who you need to consult. The protection and/or freedom of each of those licenses may vary based on your local laws.

 

[hang-the-9]

If you want something you did be distributable without restrictions, just publish it for public use. Nothing prevents documents, books, etc.. be open to use for anyone. It's called "public domain". https://fairuse.stanford.edu/overview/public-domain/welcome/

If you want to know if something tied to another project is protected you would need to read though that documentation references. Often if a program is opensource and there are companies that offer support for those, and that specific support may be owned by the company. Redhat and Linux is an example.

 

[Ayman688]

Hi Everyone, Thank you for helping me with these Simple issues. I Have one Simple Question about Open Source Licenses, I want just to know, Can Documentations Or Articles or Even eBooks on the Web be licensed under Open Source Licenses like: Apache-2.0, CERN-OHL1.2+, CERN-OHL2, GPL3+, LGPL3+, MIT, MPL-2.0, SHL0.51+, TAPR-OHL? I am not talking about Creative Commons Licenses, I talk about just these Licenses Wich used for Open Source Hardware, but my Question is just about using them for Documentations and Articles on the WebSites.

For Example, if you looking at this Open Source Electronic Projects Hub WebSite called Hackster.io You will find that Any Project Published by Users Licensed Under one of these Licenses:

Apache License 2.0 (Apache-2.0)
CERN Open Hardware Licence version 1.2 (CERN-OHL1.2+)
CERN Open Hardware License version 2 (CERN-OHL2)
GNU General Public License, version 3 or later (GPL3+)
GNU Lesser General Public License version 3 or later (LGPL3+)
MIT license (MIT)
Mozilla Public License 2.0 (MPL-2.0)
Solderpad Hardware License version 0.51 or later (SHL0.51+)
TAPR Open Hardware License (TAPR-OHL)

For Example, look at these Project:

1) Under GPL3+: https://www.hackster.io/CesarSound/10khz-to-225mhz-vfo-rf-generator-with-si5351-version-2-bfa619

2) Under MIT: https://www.hackster.io/team-matlab...lerting-indoor-iot-air-quality-monitor-5eb90d

3) Under Apache-2.0: https://www.hackster.io/naveenbskumar/voice-recognition-using-psoc6-ble-pioneer-kit-cbe0de


So is that mean the Articles or the Documentations of these Projects are Licensed under these Open Source Licenses? Or not, It's just the Schematic, PCB, Enclosure, and the Firmware are Licensed under the Open Source Licence mentioned in the Project? So the Article or Documentation is Copyghrited?

In this WebSite Users Allowed to share Projects under Creative Commons Licenses as under Open Source Licenses, They need just to Select the License of the Project when Submitting Content.

So Can Documentations Or Articles or Even eBooks on the Web be Licensed under these Open Source Licenses? Thank you very much.

Hi @kanewolf and @hang-the-9 , Thank you for interacting with this topic, I didn’t want to answer this topic a few days ago because I was waiting for an official answer from Hackster.io (Open Source Hardware/Project Community) about my question in order to come here with something new. Thank you again for the interaction.

Well, my question to Hackster.io was as follows, and this question has been passing on my ticket to those who will be better assist me regarding this issue.

The question is: Yes, I intend to publish a New Signal Generator Project using the MAX038 integrated circuit. It is an Optimized, Multi-use, High-quality, High-frequency Project, but my Question is I want to understand the license you have, Is it when choosing one of the Open Source Licenses for my Project, that means that the Articles or the Documentation, I mean the Instructions of these Projects are Licensed under these Open Source Licenses also? Or not, So It’s mean just the Schematic, PCB, Enclosure, and the Firmware are Licensed under the Open Source Licence Selected in the Project? So the Article or Documentation is Copyghrited?
Can you just explain this to me? Thank you very much.

Thus their answer was as follows: Your project in total will be under which ever open source license you decide. The policies of each license can be found on their respective sites. If you have different policies, I would state them clearly in the project.
Bests.

For information only, the Hackster platform is not the only one that gives users the right to license all the content of their projects by choosing one of the open source licenses, but almost as many platforms that publish open source electronics projects do the same thing. Those platforms are:

https://www.hackster.io/projects

Loading - Instructables

www.instructables.com

https://www.electromaker.io/projects

Arduino Project Hub

Maker Pro | Electronics Projects and Tutorials

Your Electronics Projects, From Concept to Creation. Design, Collaborate, and Share! We provide a place for makers like you to share your designs, collaborate with one another, and learn how to take your product to market.

maker.pro

https://www.openhardware.io/explore

OSHWLab - EasyEDA open source hardware lab, a hardware engineers' circuit homeland

OSHWLab - an open source hardware lab based on EasyEDA PCB designer, is the open source hardware platform with all kinds of circuit design modules such as embedded system, electronic module, DIY design, IOT, electrical and electronic design, where you can share your design inspiration with...

oshwlab.com

These platforms use all or some of the following licenses, but without the BSD license:

Apache License 2.0 (Apache-2.0)
CERN Open Hardware Licence version 1.2 (CERN-OHL1.2+)
CERN Open Hardware License version 2 (CERN-OHL2)
GNU General Public License, version 3 or later (GPL3+)
GNU Lesser General Public License version 3 or later (LGPL3+)
MIT license (MIT)
Mozilla Public License 2.0 (MPL-2.0)
Solderpad Hardware License version 0.51 or later (SHL0.51+)
TAPR Open Hardware License (TAPR-OHL)
Plus, Creative Commons Licenses

And I have read the official: Best Practices for Open Source Hardware 1.0 Article from Open Source Hardware Association (OSHWA) on this link: https://www.oshwa.org/sharing-best-practices/

And at the end of the (Instructions and Other Explanations) paragraph, they mentioned the following: (The instructions could be in a variety of formats, like a wiki, text file, Google Doc, or PDF. Remember, though, that others might want to modify your instructions as they modify your hardware design, so it’s good to provide the original editable files for your documentation, not just output formats like PDF.)

The Open Source Hardware Association (OSHWA) mentioned in this Article all the files and data that must be available while publishing an Open Source Project, including Instructions or Documentations, And in the (Licensing your Designs) paragraph states that ALL THESE DADA OR FILES must be licensed with:

1) Popular copyleft licenses include:
Creative Commons Attribution, Share-Alike (BY-SA)
GNU General Public License (GPL)
Hardware-Specific Licenses: TAPR OHL, CERN OHL
2) Or Permissive licenses include:
FreeBSD license
MIT license
Creative Commons Attribution (BY)
Hardware-Specific License: Solderpad Hardware License

Please check yourselves in this َArticle (https://www.oshwa.org/sharing-best-practices/) in the paragraph of (Licensing your Designs) to see if I understood the topic correctly. Thank you very much.

The reason that made me search for this Topic is that we are a Group of Arabs Interested in Electronics and Open Source Hardware Projects, where we try to enrich our Poor Arabic Content in this area by developing some existing Projects on the Internet and Improving them as much as possible, and thus Translating this Content Written in English into the Arabic Language. We are in the process of launching a WebSite that speaks in Arabic and French also about Electronics and Open Source Hardware.

So do you think that by translating the content of these Electronic Projects into Arabic and French, which Fully Licensed with the Open Source Licenses that I mentioned above, and publishing this Translated Content with the same Original License, We have not violated the Copyright Law and Infringed the Rights of Authors? What do you think?
Thank you so much.

 

[kanewolf]

So do you think that by translating the content of these Electronic Projects into Arabic and French, which Fully Licensed with the Open Source Licenses that I mentioned above, and publishing this Translated Content with the same Original License, We have not violated the Copyright Law and Infringed the Rights of Authors? What do you think?
Thank you so much.

I will stick by my original answer. Ask a lawyer. Anybody can be sued by anybody else. The person suing may not prevail, but that doesn't mean it won't cost you.
Or get written permission from the project owner.