Taking the Open COVID Pledge
The Open COVID Pledge seeks to help those working hard to have the resources they need - without having to worry about patents and copyrights.
As we adapt to the daily challenges of the COVID-19 crisis, scientists, engineers and researchers have been working tirelessly to create a treatment and vaccine that will help return life closer to the normal we used to know. The Open COVID Pledge, created by the Open COVID Coalition, an international group of scientists and lawyers, seeks to help those working hard to have the resources they need - without having to worry about patents and copyrights. Companies that take the pledge are allowing open access to their patents and copyrights during this unprecedented time.
Thank you to Gary Robinson of logoglo.com, the designer of the Open COVID Pledge trademark and logo
We are excited to announce SparkFun's support for the Open COVID Pledge. As you know, SparkFun was founded on the promise of open source hardware, and the Open COVID Pledge aligns with that promise. While there are ways to help with the immediate needs of this crisis, it will take working together and sharing knowledge to truly end it.
“SparkFun Electronics has been committed to open source hardware from our beginning," said CEO Glenn Samala. "Allowing electronics professionals and entrepreneurs to use our designs has become baked into what makes SparkFun, SparkFun. Technology will always be a race to improve and become better – open source allows us to work together to accomplish greater feats than we could individually. The Open COVID Pledge mirrors this value, with companies allowing open access to their copyrights and patents.”
SparkFun provides resources for our original products like schematics, Eagle files, dimensions and more to help users fully utilize the hardware we offer. Many of our products have earned open source certification, with all hardware created by SparkFun licensed under Creative Commons’ BY-SA license. For the pledge, we will continue to offer all SparkFun originals under our BY-SA license. The BY-SA license:
- Allows others to “remix, adapt, and build upon work, even for commercial purposes”
- Requires users to credit the original work and license their new work under the same terms and conditions
For those curious about the Open COVID Pledge, check out their website for more information. New pledgors are being added often and we’re so honored to be one of them.
