Open Source Hardware Certification

Discussion

"This is a proposal to develop one or a series of open source hardware certifications administered by OSHWA. The certification requirements would be developed collaboratively with the community and could possibly vary by degree of openness . Users would self-certify compliance in order to use the certification logos.

A single certification threshold would have the benefit of clarity and simplicity. However, it may not contain enough flexibility to capture the diverse paths towards openness in the hardware world.

A tiered certification would have the potential to muddy the waters around what really is “open” and could potentially be gamed by bad actors. However, by creating a spectrum of certifications and examining their use over time, OSHWA could collect real-world information about what degree(s) of openness feels most viable to the community by tracking the adoption of the various tiers. Over time, the spectrum of licenses could be consolidated based on adoption rates (this evolutionary model was used by Creative Commons to simplify and focus their license structure over time), thus bringing additional clarity to what is and is not truly OSHW.

An additional benefit of certification could be to make it easier for “outsiders” to participate in OSHW by bringing additional clarity to the definition, thus expanding the reach of OSHW and its exposure to new communities. The following is a short sketch of elements of this proposal." (http://www.oshwa.org/2015/06/02/building-an-open-source-hardware-certification-with-oshwa/)