What is OHANDA?

OHANDA is the Open Source Hardware and Design Alliance, an initiative that has developed "Four Freedoms" that can be associated with an open design to ensure proper open source use. Their idea is to create an icon that may be displayed on hardware to indicate the permitted usage, similar to a "CC" license in a way. Their description: 

 

The proposed solution with OHANDA is a label in the sense of a trademark. The label will connect the 4 Freedoms with any kind of physical device through OHANDA. Think the label like other common certificates such as FCC or CE mark. The mark permits a user of the product these four freedoms: 

 

• Freedom 0: The freedom to use the device for any purpose.
• Freedom 1: The freedom to study how the device works and change it to make it to do what you wish. Access to the complete design is precondition to this.
• Freedom 2: Redistribute the device and/or design (remanufacture).
• Freedom 3: The freedom to improve the device and/or design, and release your improvements (and modified versions in general) to the public, so that the whole community benefits. Access to the complete design is precondition to this.

  

The obvious question is why can't we just use a standard open source copyleft license instead? Why go to the trouble of making official logos? The answer is actually quite straightforward: Copyleft is derived from legal definitions of Copyright, and Copyright applies only to non-physical products. Physical products are typically protected with Patents. But the problem with Patents is that they are notoriously difficult to put in place, far beyond the ability of many makers. 

 

OHANDA's solution is pretty simple: You register your product and receive a special "producer id", which legally means you're granting the four freedoms to the user. You then slap the OHANDA label containing your key information on the product. This unique label provides a link back to the product's current documentation so the original designer and intent is maintained. 

 

Via OHANDA and Slideshare