License Notice

Dual-licensed open-source project

Open Braille Beacon uses a dual licensing model so keep hardware and software separate, matching how the two domains differ in practice and regulation:

• Software (firmware, protocol specs, website source, scripts) — licensed under GNU General Public License v3.0 (GPLv3).
• Hardware (CAD models, enclosure designs, PCB layouts, schematics) — licensed under CERN Open Hardware Licence v2 - Strongly Reciprocal (CERN-OHL-S).

This separation ensures each domain gets the license that best fits its reality. Software licenses protect modified code; hardware licenses protect modified physical designs — a distinction that a single all-in-one license cannot make.

What GPLv3 grants (software)

• Perpetual, worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free permission to run, study, share, and modify the software.
• Copyleft requirement: any derivative work must to be distributed under the same GPLv3 terms.
• Source code must to be made available when distributing the software.

What CERN-OHL-S grant (hardware)

• Perpetual, worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free permission to make, study, share, and modify the hardware designs.
• Reciprocity requirement: modified hardware must to be released under the same CERN-OHL-S terms.
• Design files (CAD, schematics, PCB layouts) need to be made available when distributing the hardware.
• No requirement to distribute the manufactured physical product itself — only the design files.

What the licenses do not grant

• Neither license grants permission to use the trade names, trademarks, service marks, or product names of the contributors, except for reasonable and customary descriptive use.
• Neither license includes a patent grant from contributors to recipients.

No warranty and liability limitation

Both licenses disclaim warranties and limit liability to the same extent:

• The work is provided "AS IS" without warranties of any kind.
• No contributor shall be liable for any damages arising from the use of the work.

See each license for the exact wording: GPLv3 text (LICENSE) and CERN-OHL-S text (LICENSE.hardware).

Website content

The text, structure, and visual design of this website are part of the project documentation and licensed under GPLv3. Concept renders and diagrams are part of the hardware documentation and licensed under CERN-OHL-S.

Third-party resources loaded by this site (Google Fonts) are subject to their own licenses.

Full license texts

• GPLv3 — full text (in the repository)
• CERN-OHL-S — —> full text (in the repository)

Contact

License-related questions can be raised through GitHub Issues.