CERN Open Hardware Licence

CERN OPEN HARDWARE LICENCE v1.1

Preamble

Through this CERN Open Hardware Licence ("CERN OHL") version 1.1, the

Organization wishes to disseminate its hardware designs (as published

on http://www.ohwr.org/) as widely as possible, and generally to

foster collaboration among public research hardware designers.  The

CERN OHL is copyright of CERN. Anyone is welcome to use the CERN OHL,

in unmodified form only, for the distribution of his own Open Hardware

designs. Any other right is reserved.  

1. Definitions

In this Licence, the following terms have the following meanings:

“Licence” means this CERN OHL.  

“Documentation” means schematic diagrams, designs, circuit or circuit

board layouts, mechanical drawings, flow charts and descriptive text,

and other explanatory material that is explicitly stated as being made

available under the conditions of this Licence. The Documentation may

be in any medium, including but not limited to computer files and

representations on paper, film, or any other media.  

“Product” means either an entire, or any part of a, device built using

the Documentation or the modified Documentation.  

“Licensee” means any natural or legal person exercising rights under

this Licence.  

“Licensor” means any natural or legal person that creates or modifies

Documentation and subsequently communicates to the public and/ or

distributes the resulting Documentation under the terms and conditions

of this Licence.  

A Licensee may at the same time be a Licensor, and vice versa.

2. Applicability

2.1 This Licence governs the use, copying, modification, communication

to the public and distribution of the Documentation, and the

manufacture and distribution of Products. By exercising any right

granted under this Licence, the Licensee irrevocably accepts these

terms and conditions.  

2.2 This Licence is granted by the Licensor directly to the Licensee,

and shall apply worldwide and without limitation in time. The Licensee

may assign his licence rights or grant sub-licences.  

2.3 This Licence does not apply to software, firmware, or code loaded

into programmable devices which may be used in conjunction with the

Documentation, the modified Documentation or with Products. The use of

such software, firmware, or code is subject to the applicable licence

terms and conditions.  

3. Copying, modification, communication to the public and distribution

of the Documentation

3.1 The Licensee shall keep intact all copyright and trademarks

notices and all notices that refer to this Licence and to the

disclaimer of warranties that is included in the Documentation. He

shall include a copy thereof in every copy of the Documentation or, as

the case may be, modified Documentation, that he communicates to the

public or distributes.

3.2 The Licensee may use, copy, communicate to the public and

distribute verbatim copies of the Documentation, in any medium,

subject to the requirements specified in section 3.1.

3.3 The Licensee may modify the Documentation or any portion

thereof. The Licensee may communicate to the public and distribute the

modified Documentation (thereby in addition to being a Licensee also

becoming a Licensor), always provided that he shall: 

a. comply with section 3.1;

b. cause the modified Documentation to carry prominent notices stating

that the Licensee has modified the Documentation, with the date and

details of the modifications;

c. license the modified Documentation under the terms and conditions

of this Licence or, where applicable, a later version of this Licence

as may be issued by CERN; and

d. send a copy of the modified Documentation to all Licensors that

contributed to the parts of the Documentation that were modified, as

well as to any other Licensor who has requested to receive a copy of

the modified Documentation and has provided a means of contact with

the Documentation.

3.4 The Licence includes a licence to those patents or registered

designs that are held by the Licensor, to the extent necessary to make

use of the rights granted under this Licence. The scope of this

section 3.4 shall be strictly limited to the parts of the

Documentation or modified Documentation created by the Licensor.

4. Manufacture and distribution of Products

4.1 The Licensee may manufacture or distribute Products always

provided that the Licensee distributes to each recipient of such

Products a copy of the Documentation or modified Documentation, as

applicable, and complies with section 3.

4.2 The Licensee is invited to inform in writing any Licensor who has

indicated its wish to receive this information about the type,

quantity and dates of production of Products the Licensee has (had)

manufactured.

5. Warranty and liability

5.1 DISCLAIMER – The Documentation and any modified Documentation are

provided "as is" and any express or implied warranties, including, but

not limited to, implied warranties of merchantability, of satisfactory

quality, and fitness for a particular purpose or use are disclaimed in

respect of the Documentation, the modified Documentation or any

Product. The Licensor makes no representation that the Documentation,

modified Documentation, or any Product, does or will not infringe any

patent, copyright, trade secret or other proprietary right. The entire

risk as to the use, quality, and performance of a Product shall be

with the Licensee and not the Licensor. This disclaimer of warranty is

an essential part of this Licence and a condition for the grant of any

rights granted under this Licence. The Licensee warrants that it does

not act in a consumer capacity.

5.2 LIMITATION OF LIABILITY – The Licensor shall have no liability for

direct, indirect, special, incidental, consequential, exemplary,

punitive or other damages of any character including, without

limitation, procurement of substitute goods or services, loss of use,

data or profits, or business interruption, however caused and on any

theory of contract, warranty, tort (including negligence), product

liability or otherwise, arising in any way in relation to the

Documentation, modified Documentation and/or the use, manufacture or

distribution of a Product, even if advised of the possibility of such

damages, and the Licensee shall hold the Licensor(s) free and harmless

from any liability, costs, damages, fees and expenses, including

claims by third parties, in relation to such use.

6. General

6.1 The rights granted under this Licence do not imply or represent

any transfer or assignment of intellectual property rights to the

Licensee.

6.2 The Licensee shall not use or make reference to any of the names,

acronyms, images or logos under which the Licensor is known, save in

so far as required to comply with section 3. Any such permitted use or

reference shall be factual and shall in no event suggest any kind of

endorsement by the Licensor or its personnel of the modified

Documentation or any Product, or any kind of implication by the

Licensor or its personnel in the preparation of the modified

Documentation or Product.

6.3 CERN may publish updated versions of this Licence which retain the

same general provisions as this version, but differ in detail so far

this is required and reasonable. New versions will be published with a

unique version number.

6.4 This Licence shall terminate with immediate effect, upon written

notice and without involvement of a court if the Licensee fails to

comply with any of its terms and conditions, or if the Licensee

initiates legal action against Licensor in relation to this

Licence. Section 5 shall continue to apply.

6.5 Except as may be otherwise agreed with the Intergovernmental

Organization, any dispute with respect to this Licence involving an

Intergovernmental Organization shall, by virtue of the latter's

Intergovernmental status, be settled by international arbitration. The

arbitration proceedings shall be held at the place where the

Intergovernmental Organization has its seat. The arbitral award shall

be final and binding upon the parties, who hereby expressly agree to

renounce any form of appeal or revision.