IT18005- FREE AND OPEN SOURCE SOFTWARE

UNIT I: INTRODUCTION
1. Introduction to Open sources
2. Need of Open Sources
3. Advantages of Open Sources
4. FOSS usage
5. Free Software Movement
6. Certification courses issues -Global and Indian
7. Application of Open Sources
8. Commercial aspects of open source movement
9. Introduction to Open Source Hardware

1.1 Introduction to Open sources :

What is Free/Open Source Software?
 “Briefly, OSS/FS programs are programs whose licenses give users the
freedom to run the program for any purpose, to study and modify the program, and
to redistribute copies of either the original or modified program (without having to
pay royalties to previous developers).” David Wheeler
 Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) has become an international
phenomenon, moving from relative obscurity to being the latest buzzword in a few
short years.
 However, there is still a lack of understanding about what really constitutes
FOSS and the ramifications of this new concept. To better explain this
phenomenon, we will examine the philosophy and development methods behind
FOSS.
Free and open-source software (FOSS) is software that can be classified as
both free software and open-source software. 
 Freely licensed to use, copy, study, and change the software in any way, and
the source code is openly shared so that people are encouraged to voluntarily
improve the design of the software.
 FOSS maintains the software user's civil liberty rights. Other benefits of using
FOSS can include decreased software costs, increased security and stability,
protecting privacy, education, and giving users more control over their own
hardware
Free licenses and open-source licenses are used by many software packages.

 A free-software license is a notice that grants the recipient of a piece of

software extensive rights to modify and redistribute that software.
 An open-source license is a type of license for computer software and other
products that allows the source code, blueprint or design to be used, modified
and/or shared under defined terms and conditions
 The FOSS philosophy: There are two major philosophies in the FOSS world:
1. The Free Software Foundation (FSF) philosophy
2. The Open Source Initiative (OSI) philosophy.
1.The Free Software Foundation (FSF)
free software is about protecting four user freedoms: ·
1. The freedom to run a program, for any purpose;
2. The freedom to study how a program works and adapt it to a person’s
needs.
 Access to the source code is a precondition for this; ·
3. The freedom to redistribute copies so that you can help your neighbour;
4. The freedom to improve a program and release your improvements to the
public, so that the whole community benefits. Access to the source code is a
precondition for this.
2. The OSI philosophy
The basic idea behind open source is very simple: When programmers can
read, redistribute, and modify the source code for a piece of software, the software
evolves. People improve it, people adapt it, and people fix bugs. And this can
happen at a speed that, if one is used to the slow pace of conventional software
development, seems astonishing
FREE SOFTWARE
 Free software means software that respects users' freedom and community.
Roughly, it means that the users have the freedom to run, copy, distribute, study,
change and improve the software. Free software may be packaged and distributed
for a free;
 The "free" refers to the ability to reuse it, modified or unmodified, as part of
another software package. As part of the ability to modify, users of free software
may also have access to and study the source code.
 The concept of free software is the brainchild of Richard Stallman, head of the GNU
Project in 1985. He meant Free as in freedom. Because the word free in English
means without cost the terms open source was created.
 The best known example of free software is Linux, an operating system that is
proposed as an alternative to Windows or other proprietary operating systems.
 Debian is an example of a distributor of a Linux package.
 Free software is easily confused with freeware, a term describing software that can
be freely downloaded and used but which may contain restrictions for modification
and reuse.
The four essential freedoms of Free Software
A program is free software if the program's users have the four essential
freedoms:
1. The freedom to run the program as you wishes, for any purpose.
2. The freedom to study how the program works, and change it so it does your
computing as you wishes. Access to the source code is a precondition for this.
3. The freedom to redistribute copies so you can help others.
4. The freedom to distribute copies of your modified versions to others. By doing this
you can give the whole community a chance to benefit from your changes. Access
to the source code is a precondition for this.
Freedom-0:
You have the freedom to execute the program, the way you want and to serve any kind
of purpose.
Freedom-1:
You have the freedom to study how the program works and you are free to modify the
program to suit your needs
Freedom-2:
You have the freedom to redistribute copies, either gratis or for a fee. So that you can
help others and also you can earn profit too.
Freedom-3:
You have the freedom to distribute modified versions of the program, so that the
community can benefit from your improvements.
Difference between Free and Open Source Software:

s.no Free Software Open Source Software

1 Free software usually refers
open source under GNU GPL
license. Because the word free
in English means without cost
the terms open source was
created.
2 Software is an important part of
people’s lives.
3 Software freedom translates to
social freedom.
4 Freedom is a value that is more
important than any economical
advantage..
5 Examples: The Free Software
Directory maintains a large
database of free-software
packages.
Some of the bestknown
examples include the
Linux kernel,
the BSD and
Linux operating systems,
the GNU Compiler Collection
and C library;
the MySQL relational database;
the Apache web server;
and the Sendmail mail transport
agent..
Your source code is accessible to anyone to
read and modify and redistribute
depending on license conditions. Publishing
source code online without the public being
able to modify them doesn’t make lots of
sense
Software is just software. There are no
ethics associated directly to it.
Ethics are to be associated to the people
not to the software.
Freedom is not an absolute concept.
Freedom should be allowed, not imposed
Examples: Prime examples of open source
products are the Apache HTTP Server, the
e-commerce platform osCommerce,
internet browsers Mozilla Firefox and
Chromium (the project where the vast
majority of development of the freeware
Google Chrome is done) and the full office
suite Libre Office

1.2Need of Open Sources

1. Reduce dependency on closed source vendors.
2. More access to tools.
3. Try before you buy.
4. Great support and a 24/7 online community that responds quickly.
5. Access to source code and the ability to customize if you desire.
6.Great negotiating power when dealing with closed source vendors.
7. Feature set is not bloated and is driven by collaboration amongst the community.
8. Bug fixes are implemented faster then closed source vendors.
1.3 Advantages of using Open Source
1.security
2.afforability
3.transparent
4.interoperable on multiple platforms
5.reliability/stability
6.open standards and vendor independence
7.priracy,IPR.
8.Localization
Disadvantages of using Open Source
1. Mostly used commercial applications.
2. Projects can die
3. Support issues
1.4 Free Software Movement

 People use free software operating systems such as GNU/Linux for various reasons.
Many users switch for practical reasons: because the system is powerful, because it
is reliable, or for the convenience of being able to change the software to do what
you need.

 Those are good reasons—but there is more at stake than just convenience. What are
at stake are your freedom, and your community.

 The idea of the Free Software Movement is that computer users deserve the
freedom to form a community. You should have the freedom to help yourself, by
changing the source code to do whatever you need to do. And the freedom to help
your neighbour, by redistributing copies of programs to other people. Also the
freedom to help build your community, by publishing improved versions so that
other people can use them.

 Whether a program is free software depends mainly on its license. However, a

program can also be no free because you don't have access to its source code, or
because hardware won't let you put a modified version into use.

 In 1998 the term “open source” was coined and associated with views considerably
different from ours. These views cite only the practical advantages of free software,
and carefully avoid the deeper issues of freedom and social solidarity that the Free
Software Movement raises. The idea of open source is good as far as it goes, but it
only scratches the surface of the issue.

1.5 FOSS USAGE

 Personal control, customizability and freedom:Users of FOSS benefit from
the Four Essential Freedoms

 Privacy and security:users of FOSS can inspect and verify the source code
themselves and can put trust on a community of volunteers and users

 Low costs or no costs:free of charge although donations are often encouraged

 Quality, collaboration and efficiency:FOSS allows for better collaboration among

various parties and individuals with the goal of developing the most efficient
software for its users or use-cases.

 Using FOSS components for commonly available functionalities such as logging

(e.g., Log4j), text search (e.g., Apache Lucene), and secure communication (e.g.,
OpenSSL) has become an important factor to speed product time to market (TTM).

 Example: Commitment to FOSS by software giants like Microsoft and Google

emphasizes the importance of FOSS in developing software. Microsoft has already
undertaken key FOSS projects (e.g., Visual Studio Code, Type Script). With more
 than 16,000 contributors to open source software, Google also has key open source
projects (e.g., its flagship machine learning library: Tensor Flow)

 Companies need to manage the use of FOSS components from the following
aspects:
1. FOSS usage policy

2. FOSS component identification

3. License compliance

4. Security vulnerabilities

5. Auditing workflows

6. Integration with software development and production infrastructure and

processes

 FOSS management systems that are designed and developed by experts can
ensure that these aspects are addressed properly. A comprehensive FOSS
management solution helps customers handle the different aspects relating to
FOSS component usage.
 FOSS usage policy management: Every company that uses FOSS components
should have a FOSS usage policy. The policy should contain rules that govern
different aspects of FOSS management, including:
1. Stakeholders that have a say in terms of developing and maintaining such
policy (e.g., architects, FOSS managers, security specialists, development
managers, the legal department)
2. The internal and external usage of FOSS components

3. FOSS licenses (e.g., MIT, GPL, etc.) that are compatible with the company’s
business model

4. FOSS repositories in place to download FOSS components

5. Rules that govern the company’s contributions to the open source

community

 Reliable FOSS component detection and identification

Companies need a reliable way to identify FOSS components that are in use. There
are four ways a FOSS component can be used in a company’s code base:
1. A whole FOSS component in use within the codebase
2. Certain files of the FOSS component in use within the codebase

3. Code snippets from the FOSS component in use

4. A mix of the above

 Identifying and managing these different types of usage can be a daunting and
error-prone task if done manually. This is especially true when considering the
complexity of modern software systems, and the ease of access to the vast pool of
available FOSS components. Reliable FOSS management systems should be well-
equipped with functionalities and algorithms to identify and detect FOSS components.
 This can save a company valuable efforts that can be otherwise used in developing
their products
 Open source license compliance
Different FOSS components are associated with different types of open source licenses.
These licenses have different legal obligations, depending on how the FOSS component is
used by the company.
For example:
 Is the FOSS component in use internally only? Or, is it distributed with a product? If
so, is it being distributed in binary or source format?
 Is the FOSS in use as is? Or is it being modified?

 Is it being linked statically or dynamically?

Example:
1. The GNU General Public License (GPL) mandates different obligations if the FOSS
is distributed as part of the company’s product, as opposed to its use only internally. Also,
customers using FOSS components with different open source licenses should make sure
that such licenses are compatible.
2. Distributing products that contain code licensed under Mozilla Public License
(MPL) and GPL will violate the terms of the licenses.
FOSS management systems are able to detect different open source licenses in use. They
can also help customers identify license obligations based on the way these components
are used. Additionally, they can provide input to help the legal team make decisions in
terms of whether the use of a certain FOSS component is or isn’t allowed. This is based on
the compatibility of license obligations with the company’s policies and business model.
 Security vulnerabilities
Companies should make sure that their products don’t contain security vulnerabilities that
could expose customers to security breaches. Like any other piece of software (open or
closed), FOSS components are also vulnerable to security issues. Companies producing
software need to be aware of vulnerabilities associated with FOSS components in use.
Additionally, they should continuously monitor newly discovered vulnerabilities in these
components, or known vulnerabilities that are fixed.
 There are multiple platforms that collect and maintain databases of known FOSS
components, such as the National Vulnerability Database. FOSS management
systems harvest such databases, continuously monitor them, and provide timely
information regarding the FOSS component vulnerabilities in their codebases.
Audit workflow
Software shops usually have multiple roles that are involved in auditing the usage of FOSS
components (i.e., reviewing and approving/disapproving usage). Examples of such roles
include:

 Legal staff
 Development managers

 Security specialists

 FOSS managers

Auditing can take place two ways:

 1. Proactive auditing takes place when a developer submits a request to grant
approval for the use of a FOSS component. This request should include the FOSS
details (e.g., name, version, license, URL, intended use of the component, etc.).
2. Reactive auditing takes place when FOSS components are already in use within
the codebase. The analysis aims to identify these components and additional
information (e.g., licenses and vulnerabilities).

With both, multiple roles in the company could be responsible for auditing FOSS
component usage. These roles include security specialists who check security
vulnerabilities that could be relating to the component. It could also include legal staff who
check the legal obligations of the component’s license.
FOSS management systems provide workflow engines that simplify the proactive and
reactive auditing of FOSS components. A rich and efficient workflow provides and
facilitates a smooth audit process. It allows:

The definition and configuration of multiple roles involved in auditing

 Sequential or parallel approval workflows

 Proper mail notifications for the different auditing parties

 Audit trail for all activities taking place during the audit of FOSS components

Black Duck Binary Analysis 

 It is an automated software composition analysis tool that enables organizations to
audit open source software compliance, vulnerabilities in third-party code, and
achieve governance over open source
 It offers a comprehensive, reliable, and rich FOSS management solution that
enables enterprises to efficiently manage FOSS component usage.
 Black Duck Binary Analysis to detect fully or partially used FOSS components. This is
in addition to identifying code snippets that are reused from FOSS components.

1.6 Certification course issues – Global and Indian

Open Source Licenses

1. Proprietary license is a license where the owner maintains full control of the
source code and the general release is prohibited from modifying it. Windows and
Apple iOS are two examples.
2. GNU Public License is the most restrictive of the FOSS category. GNU is a
recursive acronym for Gnu’s Not Unix. It is a free software license where any
derivative work or use of any part of the source code automatically inherits the
license of the parent. In other words, any derivative work from the parent requires
that the derivative must be free and is automatically applicable under this license.
3. Permissive Software, also called Limited GPL, or LGPL, has fewer restrictions,
meaning the software may be included in proprietary work if attribution is given to
the owner of the parent. FreeBSD (Berkeley Software Distribution) is one operating
system that utilizes this license.
4. Public Domain is openly defined within the source code as freely available to the
public with no requirement to identify the owner.
5. License Free Software where there is no explicit license definition for a given
software. There is no guarantee that the software is Public Domain so it should be
treated as software under a Proprietary License.
Issues or Risks associated with FOSS
At a very top level, these issues or risks associated with FOSS may be divided into
the following categories:
1. Legal (License violation, confidentiality and data privacy)
2. Intellectual property (Copyright or patent)
3. Security
4. Operational
5. Business
The Legal Risk of Using FOSS Code

 Even with the various types of FOSS licenses, there is one common risk: the legal
ramifications of incorporating all or part of FOSS code into a commercial or another
FOSS product with the intent of promoting that copied code as part of the final
product. For example, Apache is an open source web server and may be used
commercially provided that proper attribution is given to Apache. 
 Unless specifically permitted, developers are prohibited from copying any source or
binary code into their commercial product. Developers are permitted to review any
open source code to learn how it works, but they must create their own code from
scratch
 The common misconception around illegally copying FOSS software is that the act
will never be discovered, but that belief is not always true. Here’s why:
 First, software is likely to be unique from developer to developer.
 Second, FOSS, like any other code, may contain security vulnerabilities
 Third, there are methods of including the official license for FOSS in the source and
binaries. 
 Fourth, good software engineers and forensic experts know how to reverse-engineer
code
Recommendations for Using FOSS Safely

 These recommendations should reduce your liability with the use of external free
open source software:
 Make sure to abide by the FOSS’ licensing requirements. 
 Define the proper use of FOSS in company policies
 If the company permits the use of certain FOSS licenses, make sure every developer
understands the types of licenses that are permitted to be included.
 Leverage training
 If the product needs an external FOSS package to operate, require the end user to
install that FOSS package separately 
FOSS Certification:

 FOSS is not normally a part of formal education

 To promote the adoption of GNU/Linux and FOSS in government, educational
institutions, organizations and the corporate sector is to ensure that suitable human
resource capacity is available.
 A short-term measure for building human resource capacity in FOSS is to provide a
path for current IT professionals to acquire the necessary skills and certification.
 Although many system administrators, network engineers and other IT professionals
should be able to learn on their own, a more structured training programme will
ensure systematic and adequate coverage of the various topics.
 A certification process will assess the competence of GNU/Linux and FOSS
professionals; give confidence to employers; and facilitate the hiring process in an
organization.
 Training in GNU/Linux and FOSS is primarily to enhance job-related skills. Since
FOSS is now predominantly used in back office servers, the areas for training would
be in operating systems, servers, security and Web application development.
 Some governments and corporations are already implementing policies to migrate to
FOSS desktop applications either on a mandatory or voluntary basis. However, such
policies can succeed only if they are accompanied by a concerted effort to train the
users who are affected by the move to use FOSS.
 Lack of technical support is often cited as one of the reasons for not considering the
adoption of FOSS.
 support provided informally through various newsgroups and mailing lists, and
vendors like Red Hat also provide support options that can be purchased by
institutions. However, the existence of a pool of GNU/Linux-certified professionals
will go a long way to allay the fears of organizations considering the adoption of
GNU/Linux and FOSS.
 A certification programme also helps training centres in deciding on the training
curriculum. Training center can adopt a widely recognized certification programme.
There are other advantages of certification, such as industry recognition of
GNU/Linux and provision of a path of study for professionals desiring to acquire
skills in GNU/Linux.
 A certification programme should have some form of examination to reliably assess
the competencies of students. The training centres should be certified and the
instructors themselves should also be certified to be suitable to conduct the training
 certification program
1.Linux Professional Institute (LPI)
o The Linux Professional Institute (LPI - http://www.lpi.org ) is a non-profit
organization established in 1999. It is vendor-independent and through its
activities it aims to promote the use of GNU/Linux and FOSS.
 The LPI certification programme consists of three levels and is designed to certify
the competency of system administrators, system engineers and other IT
professionals in the use of GNU/Linux and other associated servers and utilities.
 LPI tests for well-rounded skills that are usable on any GNU/Linux distribution. To
ensure validity, reliability and high quality, LPI does not provide the training or the
training material directly. 

 A wide range of preparation options are supported, and training and testing centres
for LPI certification are available in many countries.
2.Red Hat Certified Engineer (RHCE)
 Red Hat ( http://www.redhat.com/training ) has two certification examinations-
the Red Hat Certified Engineer (RHCE) and the Red Hat Certified Technician (RHCT).
The training and testing emphasize practical skills and the exams measure
competence with live equipment.
 The RHCE is aimed at two groups of IT professionals. The first group consists of
system administrators, network engineers and other IT staff who already possess
experience and knowledge in UNIX or GNU/Linux.
 The second group includes IT professionals who have little or no prior experience
with UNIX or GNU/Linux.
 The RHCE and RHCT certifications are meant to assess competencies in installing
and configuring Red Hat Linux, configuring basic networking and file systems,
essential system administration and configuring basic security.
 The RHCT is certification to a technician level and focuses more on client-side
services and supporting Red Hat Linux systems on an existing network.
 RHCE focuses on server services and assesses competence in managing Red Hat
Linux servers
 The RHCE and RHCT certifications are meant to assess competencies in installing
and configuring Red Hat Linux, configuring basic networking and file systems,
essential system administration and configuring basic security.
 The RHCT is certification to a technician level and focuses more on client-side
services and supporting Red Hat Linux systems on an existing network.
 RHCE focuses on server services and assesses competence in managing Red Hat
Linux servers.
3.CompTIA Linux+
  Computing Technology Industry Association  (CompTIA)
Linux+ ( http://www.comptia.org/certification/linux/default.asp ) certification is
another vendor-neutral programme that validates the knowledge and abilities of
technicians with at least six months of practical GNU/Linux experience.
 The CompTIA Linux+ certification exam measures competencies in planning and
implementation, installation, configuration, administration, maintenance and
troubleshooting of GNU/Linux systems. This is considered to be an entry-level
certification on GNU/Linux.

1.7 APPLICATION OF OPEN SOURCE HARDWARE

Free, modular, content-management framework, content- management system and
blogging engine

Written in PHP
Drupal
Allows an individual or a community of users to easily publish, manage and organize
a wide variety of content on a website
Content
Management Free open source content-management system meant for publishing content on the
Systems Web and intranets using the MySQL database

Written in PHP

Includes features such as page caching to improve performance, RSS feeds,

Joomla printable versions of pages, news flashes, blogs, polls, website searching, and
language internationalization

Free, web-based automated news publishing and content-management system

Based on PHP and MySQL

PHP-Nuke Fully controlled using a web-based user interface

• Intended for those with no technical or programming expertise

• Enables creation of web pages and management of websites
Nvu
Web Design
GIMPShop • Image editor similar to Adobe Photoshop

• Editor targeted towards programmers and web designers

• Supports many programming and mark-up languages
• Focused on editing dynamic and interactive websites
 Bluefish

Operating Largest community maintained Linux OS – enables users to draw upon a wide
Systems (all network for support
Linux Ubuntu
distributions)

Open source Fedora is a general purpose Linux operating system, developed by the
community-supported Fedora Project and sponsored by Red Hat (a company
Fedora committed to open source software, and a major Linux distribution vendor).
 Word-processing program

Similar to predominant proprietary word-processing programs

AbiWord Suitable for a wide variety of word processing tasks

Office suite

Office Automation Suitable for individuals and businesses

(word processing,
spreadsheet and Includes a word processor (compatible with predominant proprietary word-
presentation software) processing programs), spreadsheet
Open Office
(compatible with predominant proprietary spreadsheet programs) and
presentation system (compatible with predominant proprietary presentation
systems)

Integrated office suite

Intended for the KDesktop Environment

KOffice Includes a word processor, spreadsheet application, and presentation program

Free Instant Messaging (IM) client

Pidgin Allows use of all IM accounts at once.

Communications Thunderbird Cross-platform e-mail and news client

Internet forum package written in computer scripting language PHP

PhpBB

E-commerce and online store-management application

OsCom- Offers a wide range of features that allows online stores

merce
Can be used on any web server that has PHP web scripting language and the
MySQL database

E-commerce solution intended for use with the content-management system

Joomla or Mambo
E-Commerce
Written in PHP
VirtueMart
Made for easy use in a PHP/MySQL environment

Free, shopping-cart system

Features multiple customer modes, unlimited category depth, multiple sales

and discounts, multiple display modes, multiple ad banner controller, multiple
Zen Cart payment options, etc.
1.8 Commercial aspects of open source movement

 The "recent" acceleration in the number of open source companies

being launched, frequently called The Open Source Renaissance,
has been fueled by various circumstances on the software industry
market.
 But one of the main reasons behind this has been the significant
innovation around various business models that allowed the open
source companies to commercialize their products while keeping the
open source approach to software development.
 How can we build a business around a product that we are
committed to give away to the community for free?
 What started with Red Hat and their paid support and services
model over 20 years ago has opened the door for open source
communities to start exploring the various ways to monetize their
products - which created a new wave of companies that we can
group under the name of Commercial Open Source Software.
 The open source and its proprietary license counterpart that has
become a credible new way of funding the further technology
development and innovation.
COSS Business Model
 The majority of COSS companies have built their business
model in a way that allows them to capture part of the value that is
delivered by their open source core product, by offering commercial
versions of their products, alternative license options, or add-on
proprietary software.
 The opportunity to commercialize open source software has
increased the appeal of OSS to investors, who in this modern-day
also play a fundamental role in the development stage of open
source start-ups by providing the crucial funding needed to form a
dedicated full-time team to manage the project more effectively,
grow the project up to a higher scale, and achieving the product-
market fit.
 There are numerous different ways the open source
companies have successfully approached the commercialization of
their products, but we can group them under five main groups:
• Support services
• Hosting
• Restrictive licensing
• Open core
• Hybrid licensing
 The concept of the open core business model is that the majority of
the code base is open source - the core - while the smaller part,
usually aimed at enterprise clients, is made proprietary - the crust.
  This allows the COSS company to stay true to the open source
movement and support the developer community while being able
to capture a small portion of the delivered value that will fuel the
whole project and unlock scale and longevity.
 The most important task of the company that decides to take the
open core approach is to find the right balance between the core
and crust. One that will not restrict the value and performance of
the open source part, while still providing enough incremental value
to its paid users that will justify their investment
1.9Introduction to Open Source Hardware:

 Open source hardware is hardware whose design is made publicly

available so that anyone can study, modify, distribute, make, and sell
the design or hardware based on that design.
 Like Open Source software, the key definition of Open Hardware
includes the Four Freedoms to use, study, share, and improve.
 The Open Source Hardware Definition provides a common language,
standard, and legal framework for Open Source Hardware projects.
Using Open Source Hardware developed according to this definition
reduces legal and compliance risk for these kinds of projects.
 Open Source Hardware (OSHW) is a term for tangible arti facts
machines, devices, or other physical things whose design has been
released to the public in such a way that anyone can make, modify,
distribute, and use those things.
 This definition is intended to help provide guidelines for the
development and evaluation of licenses for Open Source Hardware.
 Hardware is different from software in that physical resources must
always be committed for the creation of physical goods.
 Accordingly, persons or companies producing items (“products”) under
an OSHW license have an obligation to make it clear that such products
are not manufactured, sold, warrantied, or otherwise sanctioned by the
original designer and also not to make use of any trademarks owned by
the original designer.
 The distribution terms of Open Source Hardware must comply with the
following criteria:
1. Documentation
2. Scope
3. Necessary Software
4. Derived Works
5. Free redistribution
6. Attribution
7. No Discrimination Against Persons or Groups
8. No Discrimination Against Fields of Endeavor
9. Distribution of License
10. License Must Not Be Specific to a Product
11. License Must Not Restrict Other Hardware or Software
12. License Must Be Technology-Neutral

1. Documentation
 The hardware must be released with documentation including
design files, and must allow modification and distribution of the
design files. 
 IF not furnished with product – download via Internet
 The documentation must include design files in the preferred format
for making changes.
 The license may require that the design files are provided in fully-
documented, open format(s).
2. Scope
 The documentation for the hardware must clearly specify what
portion of the design, if not all, is being released under the license.
3. Necessary Software
 If the licensed design requires software, embedded or otherwise, to
operate properly and fulfill its essential functions, then the license
may require that one of the following conditions are met:
 a) The interfaces are sufficiently documented such that it could
reasonably be considered straightforward to write open source
software that allows the device to operate properly and fulfill its
essential functions. For example, this may include the use of
detailed signal timing diagrams or pseudocode to clearly illustrate
the interface in operation.
 b) The necessary software is released under an OSI-approved open
source license.
 4.Derived Works
 The license shall allow modifications and derived works, and shall
allow them to be distributed under the same terms as the license of
the original work. The license shall allow for the manufacture, sale,
distribution, and use of products created from the design files, the
design files themselves, and derivatives thereof.
5.Free redistribution
 The license shall not restrict any party from selling or giving away
the project documentation. The license shall not require a royalty or
other fee for such sale. The license shall not require any royalty or
fee related to the sale of derived works.
6. Attribution
 The license may require derived documents, and copyright notices
associated with devices, to provide attribution to the licensors when
distributing design files, manufactured products, and/or derivatives
thereof.
 The license may require that this information be accessible to the
end-user using the device normally, but shall not specify a specific
format of display. The license may require derived works to carry a
different name or version number from the original design.
7. No Discrimination Against Persons or Groups
 The license must not discriminate against any person or group of
persons
8.No Discrimination Against Fields of Endeavor
 The license must not restrict anyone from making use of the work
(including manufactured hardware) in a specific field of endeavour.
For example, it must not restrict the hardware from being used in a
business, or from being used in nuclear research
9. Distribution of License
 The rights granted by the license must apply to all to whom
the work is redistributed without the need for execution of an
additional license by those parties.
10 License Must Not Be Specific to a Product
 The rights granted by the license must not depend on the licensed
work being part of a particular product. If a portion is extracted
from a work and used or distributed within the terms of the license,
all parties to whom that work is redistributed should have the same
rights as those that are granted for the original work.
11. License Must Not Restrict Other Hardware or Software:
 The license must not place restrictions on other items that are
aggregated with the licensed work but not derivative of it. For
example, the license must not insist that all other hardware sold
with the licensed item be open source, nor that only open source
software be used external to the device.
12. License Must Be Technology-Neutral
 No provision of the license may be predicated on any individual
technology, specific part or component, material, or style of
interface or use thereof
Examples
1. Computers
a.  EOMA68
b.  Novena
c. GnuBee
2. Electronics
a.  Sparkfun
b. Adafruit
c.  Arduino
d. mass spectrometry
3. Mecha(tro)nics
a. 3D printers such as RepRap, Prusa, and Ultimaker
b.  laser cutter Lasersaur
c.  XYZ Space Frame Vehicles and  Tabby OSVehicle
d. open-source ventilators, the echostethoscope echOpen
4. Others
construction (Wikihouse), textile (Kit Zéro Kilomètres), and firearms
(3D printed firearm, Defense Distributed