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The TAPR Noncommercial Hardware License
Version 1.0 (May 25, 2007)
Copyright 2007 TAPR – http://www.tapr.org/NCL
PREAMBLE
Open Hardware is a thing - a physical artifact, either electrical or
mechanical - whose design information is available to, and usable by,
the public in a way that allows anyone to make, modify, distribute, and
use that thing. In this preface, design information is called
"documentation" and things created from it are called "products."
The TAPR Noncommercial Hardware License ("NCL") agreement provides a
legal framework for Open Hardware projects. It may be used for any kind
of product, be it a hammer or a computer motherboard, and is TAPR's
contribution to the community; anyone may use the NCL for their Open
Hardware project. You are free to copy and use this document provided
only that you do not change it.
Like the GNU General Public License, the NCL is designed to guarantee
your freedom to share and to create. It forbids anyone who receives
rights under the NCL to deny any other licensee those same rights to
copy, modify, and distribute documentation, and to make, use and
distribute products based on that documentation.
Unlike the GPL, the NCL is not primarily a copyright license. While
copyright protects documentation from unauthorized copying, modification,
and distribution, it has little to do with your right to make, distribute,
or use a product based on that documentation. For better or worse, patents
play a significant role in those activities. Although it does not prohibit
anyone from patenting inventions embodied in an Open Hardware design, and
of course cannot prevent a third party from enforcing their patent rights,
those who benefit from an OHL design may not bring lawsuits claiming that
design infringes their patents or other intellectual property.
The NCL addresses unique issues involved in the creation of tangible,
physical things, but does not cover software, firmware, or code loaded
into programmable devices. A copyright-oriented license such as the GPL
better suits these creations.
The NCL is identical to its cousin, the TAPR Open Hardware License,
apart from its added requirement that products can be made only for
noncommercial use.
How can you use the NCL, or a design based upon it? While the terms and
conditions below take precedence over this preamble, here is a summary:
* You may modify the documentation and make products based upon it,
provided you do not make more than ten units in any twelve month period.
* You may use products for any legal purpose without limitation.
* You may distribute unmodified documentation, but you must include the
complete package as you received it.
* You may distribute products you make to third parties, if you:
* Either include the documentation on which the product is based,
or make it available without charge for at least three years to
anyone who requests it.
* Distribute only on a non-profit basis, charging no more than the
actual cost of parts, assembly, and shipping.
* You may distribute modified documentation or products based on it, if
you:
* License your modifications under the NCL.
* Include those modifications, following the requirements stated
below.
* Attempt to send the modified documentation by email to any of the
developers who have provided their email address. This is a good
faith obligation - if the email fails, you need do nothing more
and may go on with your distribution.
* If you create a design that you want to license under the NCL, you
should:
* Include this document in a file named LICENSE (with the appropriate
extension) that is included in the documentation package.
* If the file format allows, include a notice like "Licensed under
the TAPR Noncommercial Hardware License (www.tapr.org/NCL)" in
each documentation file. While not required, you should also
include this notice on printed circuit board artwork and the
product itself; if space is limited the notice can be shortened
or abbreviated.
* Include a copyright notice in each file and on printed circuit
board artwork.
* If you wish to be notified of modifications that others may make,
include your email address in a file named "CONTRIB.TXT" or
something similar. Another reason to include your contact
information is to allow users who may wish to request rights for
commercial use to reach you.
* Any time the NCL requires you to make documentation available to
others, you must include all the materials you received from the
upstream licensors. In addition, if you have modified the
documentation:
* You must identify the modifications in a text file (preferably
named "CHANGES.TXT") that you include with the documentation.
That file must also include a statement like "These modifications
are licensed under the TAPR Noncommercial Hardware License."
* You must include any new files you created, including any
manufacturing files (such as Gerber files) you create in the
course of making products.
* You must include both "before" and "after" versions of all files
you modified.
* You may include files in proprietary formats, but you must also
include open format versions (such as Gerber, ASCII, Postscript,
or PDF) if your tools can create them.
TERMS AND CONDITIONS
1. Introduction
1.1 This Agreement governs how you may use, copy, modify, and
distribute Documentation, and how you may make, have made, and
distribute Products based on that Documentation. As used in this
Agreement, to "distribute" Documentation means to directly or indirectly
make copies available to a third party, and to "distribute" Products
means to directly or indirectly give, loan, sell or otherwise transfer
them to a third party.
1.2 "Documentation" includes:
(a) schematic diagrams;
(b) circuit or circuit board layouts, including Gerber and other
data files used for manufacture;
(c) mechanical drawings, including CAD, CAM, and other data files
used for manufacture;
(d) flow charts and descriptive text; and
(e) other explanatory material.
Documentation may be in any tangible or intangible form of expression,
including but not limited to computer files in open or proprietary
formats and representations on paper, film, or other media.
1.3 "Products" include:
(a) circuit boards, mechanical assemblies, and other physical parts
and components;
(b) assembled or partially assembled units (including components
and subassemblies); and
(c) parts and components combined into kits intended for assembly
by others;
which are based in whole or in part on the Documentation.
1.4 This Agreement applies to any Documentation which contains a
notice stating it is subject to the TAPR Noncommercial Hardware License,
and to all Products based in whole or in part on that Documentation. If
Documentation is distributed in an archive (such as a "zip" file) which
includes this document, all files in that archive are subject to this
Agreement unless they are specifically excluded. Each person who
contributes content to the Documentation is referred to in this
Agreement as a "Licensor."
1.5 By (a) using, copying, modifying, or distributing the
Documentation, or (b) making or having Products made or distributing
them, you accept this Agreement, agree to comply with its terms, and
become a "Licensee." Any activity inconsistent with this Agreement will
automatically terminate your rights under it (including the immunities
from suit granted in Section 2), but the rights of others who have
received Documentation, or have obtained Products, directly or
indirectly from you will not be affected so long as they fully comply
with it themselves.
1.6 This Agreement does not apply to software, firmware, or code
loaded into programmable devices which may be used in conjunction with
Documentation or Products. Such software is subject to the license
terms established by its copyright holder(s).
2. Patents
2.1 Each Licensor grants you, every other Licensee, and every
possessor or user of Products a perpetual, worldwide, and royalty-free
immunity from suit under any patent, patent application, or other
intellectual property right which he or she controls, to the extent
necessary to make, have made, possess, use, and distribute Products.
This immunity does not extend to infringement arising from modifications
subsequently made by others.
2.2 If you make or have Products made, or distribute Documentation
that you have modified, you grant every Licensor, every other Licensee,
and every possessor or user of Products a perpetual, worldwide, and
royalty-free immunity from suit under any patent, patent application, or
other intellectual property right which you control, to the extent
necessary to make, have made, possess, use, and distribute Products.
This immunity does not extend to infringement arising from modifications
subsequently made by others.
2.3 To avoid doubt, providing Documentation to a third party for the
sole purpose of having that party make Products on your behalf is not
considered "distribution," and a third party's act of making Products
solely on your behalf does not cause that party to grant the immunity
described in the preceding paragraph.
2.4 These grants of immunity are a material part of this Agreement,
and form a portion of the consideration given by each party to the
other. If any court judgment or legal agreement prevents you from
granting the immunity required by this Section, your rights under this
Agreement will terminate and you may no longer use, copy, modify or
distribute the Documentation, or make, have made, or distribute
Products.
3. Modifications
You may modify the Documentation, and those modifications will become
part of the Documentation. They are subject to this Agreement, as are
Products based in whole or in part on them. If you distribute the
modified Documentation, or Products based in whole or in part upon it,
you must email the modified Documentation in a form compliant with
Section 4 to each Licensor who has provided an email address with the
Documentation. Attempting to send the email completes your obligations
under this Section and you need take no further action if any address
fails.
4. Distributing Documentation
4.1 You may distribute unmodified copies of the Documentation in its
entirety in any medium, provided that you retain all copyright and other
notices (including references to this Agreement) included by each
Licensor, and include an unaltered copy of this Agreement.
4.2 You may distribute modified copies of the Documentation if you
comply with all the requirements of the preceding paragraph and:
(a) include a prominent notice in an ASCII or other open format
file identifying those elements of the Documentation that you
changed, and stating that the modifications are licensed under
the terms of this Agreement;
(b) include all new documentation files that you create, as well as
both the original and modified versions of each file you change
(files may be in your development tool's native file format,
but if reasonably possible, you must also include open format,
such as Gerber, ASCII, Postscript, or PDF, versions);
(c) do not change the terms of this Agreement with respect to
subsequent licensees; and
(d) if you make or have Products made, include in the Documentation
all elements reasonably required to permit others to make
Products, including Gerber, CAD/CAM and other files used for
manufacture.
5. Making Products
5.1 You may use the Documentation to make or have Products made,
provided that each Product retains any notices included by the Licensor
(including, but not limited to, copyright notices on circuit boards).
5.2 You may distribute Products you make or have made, provided that
you include with each unit a copy of the Documentation in a form
consistent with Section 4. Alternatively, you may include either (i) an
offer valid for at least three years to provide that Documentation, at
no charge other than the reasonable cost of media and postage, to any
person who requests it; or (ii) a URL where that Documentation may be
downloaded, available for at least three years after you last distribute
the Product.
5.3 These rights are limited as follows: Products may only be made
for your personal use or for distribution on a non-profit basis (e.g.,
sold for no more than the actual cost of components, assembly, and
shipping) Making more than ten units in any twelve month period for any
purpose is deemed commercial use and is prohibited. These limitations
may be altered or waived through written or email permission obtained
from each Licensor.
6. NEW LICENSE VERSIONS
TAPR may publish updated versions of the NCL which retain the same
general provisions as the present version, but differ in detail to
address new problems or concerns, and carry a distinguishing version
number. If the Documentation specifies a version number which applies
to it and "any later version", you may choose either that version or any
later version published by TAPR. If the Documentation does not specify
a version number, you may choose any version ever published by TAPR.
TAPR owns the copyright to the NCL, but grants permission to any person
to copy, distribute, and use it in unmodified form.
7. WARRANTY AND LIABILITY LIMITATIONS
7.1 THE DOCUMENTATION IS PROVIDED ON AN "AS-IS" BASIS WITHOUT
WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW. ALL
WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY
WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND
TITLE, ARE HEREBY EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMED.
7.2 IN NO EVENT UNLESS REQUIRED BY APPLICABLE LAW WILL ANY LICENSOR
BE LIABLE TO YOU OR ANY THIRD PARTY FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT,
INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE, OR EXEMPLARY DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF
THE USE OF, OR INABILITY TO USE, THE DOCUMENTATION OR PRODUCTS,
INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO CLAIMS OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
INFRINGEMENT OR LOSS OF DATA, EVEN IF THAT PARTY HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE
POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.
7.3 You agree that the foregoing limitations are reasonable due to
the non-financial nature of the transaction represented by this
Agreement, and acknowledge that were it not for these limitations, the
Licensor(s) would not be willing to make the Documentation available to
you.
7.4 You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold each Licensor harmless
from any claim brought by a third party alleging any defect in the
design, manufacture, or operation of any Product which you make, have
made, or distribute pursuant to this Agreement.
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