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Ask Slashdot: Best Open Source License For Guitar?

Posted by samzenpus on from the modular-guitar dept.

First time accepted submitter PraxisGuitars writes "I am working on developing an open source electric guitar. I wish to make the basic structural system completely open and free, with a standardized interface allowing different body shapes and modules to be bolted on. I am having trouble figuring out the best way to release the files. There seem to be at least half a dozen open source licenses out there; The Thingiverse has some precedent for open source 3d data, but version control seems like it might be difficult. I have looked into sourceforge and github, but don't know enough to know if that would be the best choice. Are there other precedents out there? Is there a better way?"

4 of 102 comments (clear)

  1. Re:public domain by SJHillman · · Score: 5, Funny

    Yes, put it all in the public domain without strings, and then charge an arm and a leg for the strings. Brilliant! After all, what good is a guitar without strings?

  2. Bruce Perens by bhima · · Score: 4, Informative

    You need to talk to Bruce Parens. He's easy to find.

    --
    Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.
  3. Use the TAPR Open Hardware License by rbulling · · Score: 4, Informative

    You could use the TAPR Open Hardware License:

    http://www.tapr.org/OHL

    It's a copyleft-style license drafted by a lawyer that permits a broad range of activity. Bruce Perens and Eric S. Raymond helped review it. Open hardware licenses are still in the early stages of evolution and adoption. If TAPR does not meet your needs, the Wikipedia entry on Open-source hardware lists more alternatives:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open-source_hardware

  4. Re:Trademark by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Honestly, my dad is a luthier and while you can copy a number of guitars (Allparts even sells full fender bodys/necks for assembly, as I understand, with Fender's blessing.), there are already dozens of 'open source' guitars available, given that the majority of guitar designs in production today are derivativs of guitar designs dating back from a few decades to a number of centuries. Additionally as an artistic craft, most of them prefer not to make clones of other people's designs as a matter of course (although the differences may be quite subtle in many of the non-electric designs, since the geometries for most of the bodies/sides are pre-determined. You do see alternatives, but there are acoustic and structural considerations which tend to limit sweeping innovations. The exception being bracing inside the guitar. If you can get a mirror or endoscope or something in there, the bracing style can probably give you some ideas on who produced it for hand crafted rather than production guitars. Mind you, there's probably also a sticker in there stating who produced it and when, or in lieu of a sticker a pencil or grease pen.)