The Open Source Hardware Association (OSHWA) has developed a Quick Reference Guide for open source hardware.

The folder contains:

– a checklist for opening your project

– a May and Must poster to remind the community of what must be done to consider a project open hardware and what other options you may use.

– a folder of many different file types of the open source hardware logo.

– a copy of the open source hardware definition and best practices

– a “What is Open Source Hardware” infographic

You can find the Google drive folder here: https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B_f25OKVb0TCb3BKQ053RV9DcU0&usp=sharing

If you find this useful, please consider contributing to OSHWA through membership or donation!

 

5 thoughts on “OSHW Quick Reference Guide”

  1. This is a great resource, thanks for providing it.

    What do we do about projects and companies claiming to be Open Source but ignoring these guidelines?

  2. Well, I guess no one at OSHWA really cares about this stuff to even bother to answer.

    Anyway, here is the latest example “not-Open Source ‘Open Source'”. http://www.littlerp.com/?page_id=38. I did email them a link to your recent blog, their response was basically “we don’t care what OSHWA say”.

    Without support from leaders, getting actively involved, the Open Hardware concept is rapidly dying, If not dead already. Standing by publishing guidelines will lead nowhere.

    If I was OSI, I’d be quite concerned, because most people now think Open Source means “shared for non-commercial use”. I guess that is their fault for not taking an interest in Open Hardware.

  3. Here is another example of how things are going: http://openbuildspartstore.com/cnc-usb-controller/ . They are using (mis-using) the Open Source Hardware logo as their own logo. And they are called “Open Builds” so you would expect their stuff to be Open Source, right?

    Well no. It’s a proprietary hardware design, and the software to use it “Requires license activation”.

    Does anyone care about this stuff? Or have we abandoned the concept of Open Source Hardware to be used as a marketing term by proprietary entities?

  4. The jpg defining open-source hardware is of such low resolution that it is unreadable and thus unusable. It would be better to post a high-resolution bmp that could be scaled for readability and various uses.

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