Hardware
Checklist list
Spectrum
The scope of copyright protection is limited to strictly decorative components of hardware. As a result, at a baseline level, the hardware for many functional open source hardware products will not be protected at all. Copyright protection will begin to attach only as decorative and aesthetic elements are added to the hardware.
Whether a particular hardware design or design element is covered by copyright is not always a simple yes/no question. Instead, the range of copyright protectability of hardware tends to vary on a spectrum that is closely linked to the hardware’s functionality. The more the hardware’s design is driven by functional concerns, the less likely it will be protected by copyright; the less the hardware’s design is driven by functional concerns, the more likely it will be protected by copyright.
The spectrum below shows the range of protectability of various exemplary products. Hardware towards the left side of the spectrum is mostly or exclusively functional, meaning it receives little or no protection under copyright law. As you move across the spectrum, the hardware integrates an increasing number of non-functional, creative design elements, increasing the hardware’s protectability under copyright law. It’s important to keep in mind that this protection will never extend to any purely functional components of the hardware. However, in some cases—for example, when decorative or aesthetic features extend across the entire product, or when a decorative or aesthetic feature is essential to the product’s appeal to users, this protection can effectively control reproduction of the entire physical product.
Open Source Laboratory Sample Rotator and Mixer
This product is a 3-D printable laboratory sample rotator-mixer designed for tumbling and gentle mixing of laboratory samples. This design easily allows for a variety of mixing angles and features a convenient angle changing mechanism.
The physical design choices that were made in constructing this product were driven almost exclusively by functional motivations. As a result, the hardware does not incorporate creative design elements that are unrelated to the core functionality of the product. Thus, the hardware itself is very unlikely to be eligible for copyright protection.
Chirmen
The Chirmen is made up of a number of complex technical elements. The requirements of those technical elements - not creative decisions by the team - define its physical appearance. As such, it is unlikely that the Chirmen’s physical hardware is protected by copyright. This lack of copyright protection for Chirmen’s hardware does not reduce the copyright protection that would apply to any software incorporated into the hardware.
Neurobite
The Neurobite’s physical layout is almost entirely dictated by the functional requirments of the PCB. However, the team has incorporated an image of a neuron and centered it on the LED. This arguably gives it a low level of copoyright protection, so it is wise for the team to include a permissive copyright license for the hardware.
ECG Patient Simulator
This product tests the accuracy and performance of an Electrocardiogram (ECG) cable. The ECG Patient Simulator generates an ECG signal similar to that of a perfectly connected patient and is used to compare the strength of the signal before and after the cable is connected to the patient.
The physical design of this product is largely derived from the functional components of hardware. Nevertheless, there are some aesthetic design elements incorporated into the hardware that may warrant some copyright protection of those elements, such as the ECG wave in the center of the product, the bright orange color, and the distinctive color of each knob’s assigned letter.
AXIOM Case
The shape and featureds of the axiom case are mostly dictated by the functional necessity of housing the core elements, providing ventilation, and connecting accesories. Nonetheless, the team has made creative decisions around how to shape the ventilation, as well as the contrast piece and notch on the side. This creates at least the potential that the case itself may have some level of copyright protection.
Mycroft Mark 1
The Mycroft Mark 1 incorporates functional elements such as status lights into a whimsical and decorative case that evokes the face of a friendly robot assistant. This creative presentation of functional elements is eligable for copyright protection.
Voidbox Concrete Business Card Holder
The Voibox business card holder goes well beyond what is technically necessary to simply hold a business card on a desk. The creative and decorative sculptural elements make it easily protected by copyright.
Voidbox Hactus
The Hactus is a traditional prototyping board with a unique aesthetic twist. The product uses interlocking green perfboards boards inside a flowerpot to embody the visual representation of a succulent cactus.
The physical appearance of this product is entirely dictated by creative and aesthetic design choices. Prototyping boards are used to affix electronic components to build a circuit, something that does not require the product to resemble a succulent. Therefore, the imaginative and artistic design elements make it easily protected by copyright.
