Re: Hardware licensing

[Richard Stallman <rms@gnu.org>]

    - It MAY be that it is possible to directly use copyright to prevent
      someone from performing what I was calling a "transformation," e.g.
      the compilation of Verilog into an EDIF netlist by a synthesis tool
      may be considered to be creating a derivative work, and copyright
      law allows me to restrict the ability of others to create
      derivative works based on my original works.

Copyright certainly covers this; therefore, if the Verilog source is
covered by the GPL, the EDIF netlist is covered by the GPL also.

But if turning that netlist into a hardware device is not covered by
copyright, then people can do that regardless of what the license says.

    It MAY follow from the preceding statements that I can indirectly
    use copyright to prevent someone from creating a physical circuit
    which directly relies on my Verilog code.

I don't think so.  If your license is free, it has to permit people to
convert the source into the netlist; then *if* making the hardware is
not covered by copyright, they can lawfully do so with no
requirements from the license.

    which I have written, if I can show the following, it MAY be
    possible to still collect (considerable) damages under the
    copyright law:

    (3) The infringer had no rights to make those
	intermediate design files.

If the license does not permit conversion of the source
into the intermediate design files, that would be like a software
source license which does not permit compiling the source: it would
not qualify as free.

    "These files are licensed, not sold.

It would not be free if people are restricted in this way.