Re: [libreplanet-discuss] Equivalent of GPLv3 for hardware???

[Fabio Pesari]

On 04/03/2016 03:38 AM, Pen-Yuan Hsing wrote:
>
> Finally, RMS said that since making copies of hardware is costly 
> compared to software, free hardware is not as urgent of an issue right 
> now. That might be true, but I propose that since technology will 
> progress and one day copying hardware might become quick, it *is* a good 
> idea to set a good precedent and start a trend asap to ensure that 
> hardware designs will be free.
> 
> Love to hear your critiques.

The real question is not if new technology can be patented, in my
opinion, but if existing patents apply to libre hardware designs. I
suppose so, and this severely limits the amount of things which can be
built.

Also, is there a database/index for libre hardware designs like the Free
Software Directory? If not, there should be. There are dozens of
Arduino-based libre designs out there, for example.

I also think there should be some equivalent to the FSF for hardware -
including firmware, which has always been the elephant in the room when
it comes to free software, and the poor (or inexistent) performance of
free drivers has prevented GNU/Linux (and free distros in particular)
from gaining mainstream adoption. Just think about how many WiFi cards
require blobs (I don't think I've ever come across one which doesn't).