Re: gEDA-user: licensing (GPL or otherwise) for hardware?

[DJ Delorie <dj@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

> I also don't think you can verbatum copy someones schematics and
> re-layout the board without violating the schematics copyright.

I think you can if you don't copy or redistribute the schematic
itself.  IANAL, but I think the schematic as a *published work*
(printout or file), is protected by copyright.  However, the schematic
as an *idea* is not; you'd need a patent to protect it.

PCB layouts are different, because the layout itself exists in what
might be "published form" as the copper on the PCB.

BIOS is different because it's software, which is more similar to a
written work than a physical object.  Although they're trying to
patent the ideas behind software now, too.

Note that this is why I set my library "use-license" to "unlimited".
I don't like worrying about these types of problems.


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