The Charter states the fundamental values of Federation, and provides the intellectual property framework for projects lead within Federation. It protects both user members and their work.
All Federation - Open Space Makers members must confirm that they adhere to the charter.
Preamble
The Federation is an initiative aiming to open up the world of space infrastructure to as many people as possible so that everyone can fix their activity within the context of creating the world of the future.
When you join the Federation, you are joining those who are looking to take part in the development and democratisation of space projects in open source hardware. You will become a part of a community developing and producing expertise, knowledge and open source space infrastructure in a collaborative, open and responsible way.
Conceived as an open and innovative ecosystem, this approach is based on a network of partners and numerous contributors federated around the "Open Space Makers (OSM)" Association which organises the provision of collaborative tools as the driving force behind the network of third places and supports the Projects within the Federation. To organise this collaboration and enable all motivated parties to communicate with the more traditional stakeholders within the space sector (institutions, laboratories and industries), the OSM Association maintains a clear and transparent contribution framework which defines the rules on designing and running Federation Projects , personal expertise and new knowledge.
This contribution framework takes the form of this Charter which stipulates both the commitments and activities taken by the association in order to meet its objectives and the rules which apply to contributing individuals or partners wishing to join the Federation. It covers the entire life-cycle of a project, from the design within the Federation up to its public utilisation and hereby formalises the principles enabling contributors to create or participate in one or more Projects, provide physical, human or financial Resources or to contribute to the creation, sharing and distribution of expertise and knowledge.
Finally, this Charter is designed around the key values and principles of the Federation: collaboration, inclusion, openness, sustainability, responsibility, and goodwill.
Collaboration
| The Federation is laying a wager on collective intelligence, by giving a variety of stakeholders effective access to mutualised development of spatial Resources which are shared, open and usable by all. |
A Collaborative Platform
The "Open Space Makers (OSM)" provides access to a Collaborative Platform online where all contributions are made by the Members and Partners of the OSM Association:
www.federation-openspacemakers.com
This Collaborative Platform has multiple objectives:
• the collaborative development of Space projects, from their theorization up to their effective design and distribution;
• the creation, compilation and distribution of knowledge and expertise;
• maintaining synergies with the general public through information areas and discussion around current Projects.
The Active Members of the OSM Association are responsible for the administration of this Collaborative Platform and its development in compliance with Federation Requirements.
Local fixture point for meeting and distributed production
To accompany and support Federation Projects, the OSM Association benefits from a network of production Places: Fablabs, Makerspaces, Hackerspaces etc.
Genuine local hubs, these locations support the Federation initiative by connecting people and facilitating the production of space material. This way, they provide access to the resources required to run space Projects and promote interconnection by the presence of active Members from the OSM Association in these locations.
The contributions made (developing procedures, production, assembly, integration, testing and prototyping, in a broader sense) are conducted by prioritising interoperability between the different Projects and Places. To do this, Contributors then document these activities via the Collaborative Platform for the benefit of the community.
An equipped and documented collaboration framework
The ecosystem which makes up the Federation is particularly dense, geographically dispersed and comprises a variety of stakeholders with interests which often differ.
In order to ensure maximum transparency and to orchestrate collaboration around the development of space Projects, the OSM Association provides its Members and Partners with a set of legally-based reference documents (statutes, contributor agreement, T&C etc.) and training tools (tutorials, MOOC etc.).
These tools are designed and maintained by the OSM Association and are susceptible to evolve during the life-cycle of the Association and Projects in order to meet new requirements in compliance with the objective of the Association.
Their acceptance is required before participating in the Projects.
Documents and commitments for Federation stakeholders
Open
|
In order to ensure the widest possible distribution and use of the Results generated in the context of Federation Projects, these are open, on principle. |
A distribution of Federation Project Results, open on principle
On principle, the Results of Projects developed in the context of the Federation are placed under open licences, enabling anyone to use, adapt, transform, or redistribute them.
These licences have been selected from existing Open Source and Open Source Hardware licences. They are legally sound and benefit from the support of an international community, depending on Federation objectives according to the uses observed in the space sector.
This way, the Results developed in the context of a Federation Project are on principle placed under the following licences:
The stakeholders of a Federation Project can choose to place their Results under licences not indicated above if they consider them more appropriate to their contexts and objectives. However, this choice must be justified and will be subject to validation by the OSM Association Bureau.
Distribution and use of Federation Projects
| Type of Results generated | Associated licence |
|---|---|
| Software |
By default: Eclipse Public License 2.0 (EPL-2.0) Comment: However, if the Result is shared under EPL licence, it may comprise Resources (included during the design phase) placed:
|
| Hardware |
By default: CERN Open Hardware License 1.2 (CERN-OHL-1.2) Comment: However, if the Result is shared under the CERN-OHL-1.2 licence, it may comprise Resources (included during the design phase) placed:
|
| Expertise & knowledge |
Creative Commons By-SA 4.0 Summary: Full text: |
Copyleft, guaranteed enduring open source
To prevent any Stakeholders from poaching Results generated in the context of the Federation, the licences used are "copyleft" i.e. they render the freedoms enduring, by obliging subsequent users to systematically grant the same freedoms.
This way, any modification made to a Resource subject to such a licence must be made under the same conditions. However, in order to ensure legal interoperability with other technically interoperable Resources, the licence adopted by the Charter facilitate modularity – i.e. they render such combinations possible subject to complying with the licences of each Resource concerned. In other words, this means that the arrangements contained within the licence apply to the original creation and modifications made, but it is possible to combine this initial creation with others, which may be subject to other licences. The objective is therefore to facilitate collaboration as far as possible.
Inclusion
| By promoting access to space for everyone, the Federation brings together all stakeholders willing to work together on developing space Projects (shared), the Results of which benefit everyone. |
To achieve this aim, the Federation prioritises the reuse of pre-existing third-party Resources in the context of Project development. This involves identifying, with support from the community, the Resources which can be mutualised or developing and implementing the specific framework enabling their inclusion in the Projects.
The rules governing the adoption of third-party Resources (both software and hardware and expertise and knowledge) within Projects must be interpreted with the dual objective of conserving, wherever possible, a compatibility framework promoting the use of these external Resources, while complying with the expectations of the Federation and Project Partners.
Development phases within a Federation Project
Based on the Resources used, there are various intellectual property rights (copyright, patents, drawings & models etc.) likely to manage their inclusion within Federation Projects. These rights may be extended by specific contractual agreements.
In this context and in order to conserve the integrity of Federation Projects, each Contributor and Partner is responsible for ensuring that the integration of the Resources they provide to the Federation complies with
- their specific legal context,
- that implemented by the Federation.
Design phase: inclusion of software & hardware Resources
The software and hardware Resources provided by third parties may be governed by various legal contexts, affecting the inclusion procedure within a Federation Project:
Design of Federation Projects
| Type third-party Resource provided | Legal system of the third-party Resource | Inclusion procedure within the Federation Project |
|---|---|---|
| Software | Open Source licence |
The Resource may be integrated within the Project. Good practices:
|
| Public domain | None, the Resource may be integrated automatically. | |
| Non-Open Source licence of the Partner or Contributor | The Resource is placed under the terms of a licence which enable access to the specifications of the Resource in order to promote its interoperability with the other Resources used. | |
| Hardware | Open Source Hardware licence |
The Resource may be integrated within the Project. Good practices: Anticipate the Result distribution phase:
|
| Public domain | None, the Resource may be integrated automatically. | |
| Non-Open Source licence of the Partner or Contributor |
The Resource is placed under the terms of a licence which enable access to the specifications of the Resource and thereby promoting its interoperability with the other Resources used.
|
The following diagram represents this mechanism:
Inclusion framework for external Resources within Federation Projects
Comment: Federation aims to promote the use of third-party Open Source Software or Open Source Hardware Resources. To achieve this, within a principle of a virtuous circle, the contributions made as part of the development of Federation Projects will on principle be made to the original projects (see Tutorial "How to contribute to a Federation Project" – coming soon).
Using expertise and knowledge
As part of the design of a Federation Project, the Contributors and Partners of a Federation Project are called upon to share their knowledge. On principle, this knowledge is not considered confidential and must be provided openly.
However, in the event the participants are called upon to exchange confidential information, this may require a Confidentiality Agreement (see NDA Template – coming soon). It defines the terms under which these confidential data are exchanged during the development process and do not ultimately affect the final Result.
The Confidentiality Agreement is drawn up between the Contributors to the Project and the Partner(s) who provide the Resources. In the event OSM Association engagement is also required, the signatures of the members of the Bureau of the Association are required.
The Project stakeholders shall reach any decision as to setting up such confidentiality agreements as part of Project development. If in any doubt, they shall consult the Active Members of the OSM Association.
Design of Federation Projects
| Type third-party Resource provided | Third-party Resource system | Inclusion procedure within the Federation Project |
|---|---|---|
| Expertise & knowledge | Open |
The Resource may be integrated automatically within the Project. |
| Protected |
An NDA (see NDA Template – coming soon) may be drawn up, covering the exchange of confidential information between the different stakeholders of the Project. |
Sustainability
| In order to ensure Project sustainability, the Federation aims to protect against, wherever possible, the poaching of Resources generated for the benefit of a single stakeholder, prioritising a principle of a virtuous circle in which the Contributions are made into a "shared pot". By promoting mutualisation at all levels, the Federation is backing an approach which is sustainable, enduring and respectful of both current and future environmental issues. |
Priority on interoperability and open standards
In order to ensure the sustainability of Federation Projects (developed Resources and Results) and therefore everyone's capacity to use them and modify them over time, the Contributors to Federation Projects commit to prioritising the use of open tools and standard technologies, which promote interoperability.
Interoperability as defined as the capacity of an IT system to function with other IT products or systems, existing or future, without any restriction on access or implementation .
An open standard is defined as "any communication, interconnection or exchange protocol and any interoperable data formats for which the technical specifications are public and do not restrict access or implementation."
Intellectual property, guaranteed shared benefit
A range of intellectual property tools are used for sustainable collaboration:
| Distinctive signs and marks |
Rules on using the name and logo of "Federation - Open Space Makers" are clearly defined (see usage policy for the "Federation – Open Space Makers" name and logo – coming soon) in order to encourage their use by the Projects. In addition, the OSM Association offers support to Projects in defining their strategy in terms of names and associated procedures, in order to promote the distribution and value of Results generated. |
|---|---|
| Patents |
As part of its objective to promote innovation within the space sector and to strengthen confidence in the ecosystem, the OSM Association has set up a framework designed to limit the risks associated with patent activities (see Patent policy – coming soon). It has a double format:
|
In addition, no exclusivity agreement may be signed concerning the Result of a Federation Project, or any other agreement which would limit the expected benefits in terms of the distribution of Results from a Project.
Responsibility
| With safety and compliance with the legal framework in application prerequisites for Federation operations, the OSM Association has fixed its activity within a responsible and exemplary approach with regards to society. Above and beyond these issues, the Federation actively promotes knowledge and expertise sharing from those choosing to contribute to the space sector, regardless of their skills or experience. |
Space standards and regulation compliance
The OSM Association's mission is to promote compliance with regulations in application. The projects conducted within the Federation must comply with regulations in application.
This requires a commitment from the OSM Association to provide all stakeholders with information on activities which may be carried out with regards to regulations in application.
It will be particularly vigilant on compliance with these regulations.
Training and knowledge sharing
General widespread appropriation of space infrastructure cannot materialise without teaching methods which are accessible and upgradable. Thus, training is one of the components of the Federation.
OSM Association Members actively participate in the production and sharing of space knowledge, intended for all those who choose to participate in space projects, with special focus on those for whom the gateway to the space sector seems closed (professionals changing career etc.).
In addition, the OSM Association is associated with other associations with complementary missions (education for all, access to space for young people etc.).
Benevolence
As the Federation is an intrinsically collaborative initiative, stakeholders must act in compliance with structural, individual and collective ethical principles.
These principles apply both internally, as part of the development of Federation Projects, and externally, towards the Federation.
Internally, as part of Federation Projects
All Federation stakeholders shall act in compliance with principles of open-mindedness and listening to others; tolerance and benevolence towards others.
The Contributors and Partners shall do everything possible to comply with W3C recommendations in terms of accessibility and in particular Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1. In order to facilitate compliance by all with these recommendations, the French authorities publish a guide and additional resources.
Externally, towards the Federation
Contributors and Partners shall:
- Not damage the reputation of the OSM Association;
- Not engage the responsibility of the OSM Association;
- Not act on behalf of the OSM Association, nor make any declaration or sign any agreements on its behalf;
- When using a Result from a Federation Project in the context of their own activity, they shall not lead to believe that these products or services are supplied, sponsored or supported by the OSM Association and that their staff are neither employed, nor affiliated with the OSM Association.
Organigram
Organigram of the Federation – Open Space Makers ecosystem stakeholders
Glossary
Federation: refers to the Federation initiative, which aims to open up the world of space infrastructure to as many people as possible so that everyone can fix their activity within the context of creating the world of the future.
Open Space Makers (OSM) Association: refers to the Association of Open Space Makers volunteers who have taken on the mission to develop, pilot and support an innovative open ecosystem through
- Setting up and piloting tools enabling experience sharing, project management, open design and collaborative and open learning.
- Piloting a network based on existing third places (Fablab, Hackerspaces, Makerspaces etc.) and capable of producing in a distributed manner.
- Supporting and accompanying project realisation.
- The construction of a clear and transparent contribution framework in which all interested parties can dialogue with traditional players in the space sector (institutions, laboratories and industry).
FEDERATION – Open Space Makers: refers to the ecosystem of those looking to contribute to the development and the democratisation of space projects in open source.
Federation Association Member: refers to the different types of members in the Open Space Makers Association:
- Active Members: individuals who lead all the missions required for the development of the Association objective. They manage, pilot and moderate the Collaborative Platform. They participate in the Federation Garden. They obtain their status of active member by adhering to the statutes of the OSM Association and paying the membership fee.
- Founding Members: individuals behind the creation of the Association;
- Honorary Members: individuals, for whom their status is due to their background in the area of space exploration and research, or their activity promoting this. They participate in the Federation Garden.
- User Members: those who participate in Federation Projects. They obtain their user member status by signing up on the Collaborative Platform and adhering to the Federation Charter.
Federation Charter: refers to this Charter.
Contributor: the Contributors of a Federation Project include both Federation User Members and individuals at the disposal of Partners, who contribute to the Project by any means.
Federation Project (or "Project"): A Federation Project is a space project comprising a mixed set of Resources, subject to licences which promote the distribution and reuse of the Result with society.
Resource: any component or set of components created or used in the context of developing Federation Projects (software, material, knowledge, expertise etc.). Thus, a Resource may be external, provided by third parties, or internal, developed specifically in the context of the development of Federation Projects.
Result: the Result of a Federation Project corresponds to the version usable by the Project. It may be a compilation of external and internal Resources, or may have been entirely developed in the context of the Federation.
Federation Partner: Legal entity providing the OSM Association with financial or any other type of support and participating in the Federation Garden.
Project Partner: Legal entity providing financial or any other type of support to a Federation Project.
Collaborative Platform: Functional platform, accessible online <www.federation-openspacemakers.com>, intended for Contributors and Project Partners for the collaborative development of Federation Projects, from their theorization up to their effective design. The OSM Association is responsible for the Collaborative Platform and administers it.
Places: refers to a network based on existing third places (Fablab, Hackerspaces, Makerspaces etc.), in which it is possible to contribute to Federation Projects.
Project Carrier: person who coordinates the development of a Federation Project. Their missions are described in the attached Tutorials.
Federation Garden: This pilots the exchanges between the Partners and the OSM Association, sustains debates on directions in terms of technological developments and ethical, societal and environmental issues. It has no voting rights. It comprises active members, honorary members, Federation Partners.
COMMITMENTS
Two series of commitments: the first must be taken by any Federation Project Contributor; the second by any Partner selecting to provide the Federation with Resources.
Contributor Commitments
The Open Space Makers Association has drawn up a Charter to formalise a shared vision within the Federation. It covers the entire life-cycle of a Project, from the design within the Federation up to its public utilisation and hereby formalises the principles enabling contributors to create or participate in one or more Projects, provide physical, human or financial Resources or to contribute to the creation, sharing and distribution of expertise and knowledge.
To join the Federation initiative, the Contributors must adhere to the values and principles as decreed by the Federation Charter. This acceptance is automatic when joining the Open Space Makers Association or must be expressly formulated in the event of Contributors available in the context of a Partnership.
Each Contributor therefore must read the Charter and accept the following commitments:
- the use of the Collaborative Platform requires adhering to the Charter, creating a personal account on the Collaborative Platform and complying with the General Conditions of Use of the Collaborative Platform www.federation-openspacemakers.com ;
- access to the network of third Places organised around the Federation, as part of the design and production activities, requires compliance with the principles and rules of these various Places, in addition to compliance with the Charter;
- the Contributors shall use and comply with the reference documents and tools provided by the OSM Association on the Collaborative Platform;
- conversely, the Contributors shall document their activities via the Collaborative Platform online in order to enable continuous and facilitated access to other Contributors;
- in terms of access to Resources provided on the Collaborative Platform:
- the Contributors shall acknowledge awareness of the terms of the Resources provided on the Collaborative Platform;
- the Contributors shall comply with these rules and only use the Resources in the context defined jointly in this Charter. When access to a Partner resource is subject to signing a confidentiality agreement, the Contributors shall sign (or have signed if they are contributing as part of their work activity) and comply with this agreement before using the Resource.
- in terms of distributing its own contributions or Projects:
- the Contributors shall comply with the licence policy defined within the Federation;
- the Contributors shall take every precaution to comply with W3C recommendations in terms of accessibility;
- in terms of integration of Resources within Federation Projects:
- In order to conserve the integrity of Federation Projects, each Contributor is responsible for ensuring that the integration of the Resources they provide to the Federation complies with their specific legal context;
- Each Contributor shall comply with the Federation [Patent policy];
- Each Contributor shall comply with the Federation [Brand policy].
- In addition, the Contributors shall not express any abusive, libellous or racist remarks; or make any public order offence and infringe the legal status in application. The Contributors commit to not damage the reputation of the OSM Association; shall not engage the responsibility of the OSM Association; shall not act on behalf of the OSM Association nor make any declaration or sign any agreements on its behalf;
- When using a Result from a Federation Project in the context of their own activity, the Contributors shall not lead to believe that these products or services are supplied, sponsored or supported by the OSM Association.
In the event of non-compliance with the previous commitments, the Contributors may have their access to the Collaborative Platform temporarily or permanently suspended. The OSM Association may also decide to exclude any Member who does not respect the Charter or terminate any Partner Agreement.
Partner commitments
The "Open Space Makers Association" has drawn up a Charter to formalise a shared vision within the Federation. It covers the entire life-cycle of a Project, from the design within the Federation up to its public utilisation and hereby formalises the principles enabling contributors to create or participate in one or more Projects, provide physical, human or financial Resources or to contribute to the creation, sharing and distribution of expertise and knowledge.
To join the Federation initiative, the Contributors must adhere to the values and principles as decreed by the Federation Charter. This acceptance is automatic when joining the OSM Association or must be expressly formulated in the event of Contributors available in the context of a Partnership. Each Contributor therefore must read the Charter and accept the commitments.
In parallel, the Partners choosing to provide their own resources and/or participate in the design of a Federation Project must ensure compliance with the Charter from their own employees involved in the design of a Project and make certain additional commitments.
Therefore, implementing a Partnership relation involves the Partner reading the Charter and accepting the following commitments:
- the use of the Collaborative Platform requires signing a Partner Agreement, creating a personal account on the Collaborative Platform and Collaborator compliance with the General Conditions of Use of the Collaborative Platform;
- any Collaborator provided by the Partner must also adhere to the Charter as a Collaborator;
- in terms of providing own Resources:
- with the exception of any clause to the contrary stipulated within the Partner Agreement, all Resources provided by the Partner are accessible and usable in compliance with the Federation Licences Policy. The Partner shall also share any specifications on their resources likely to be required to ensure the interoperability between this Resource and the rest of the Project.
- However, in the event the participants are called upon to exchange confidential information, they may require a Confidentiality Agreement (see NDA Templates – coming soon) which will define the terms under which these confidential data are exchanged during the development process, although such an NDA may not affect the distribution of the final Result.
- in terms of access to Resources provided on the Collaborative Platform:
- Whenever access to a Resource from another Partner is subject to signing a confidentiality agreement, the Partner shall sign and comply with this agreement before the Resource is used by its collaborators.
- in terms of integration of Resources within Federation Projects:
- no exclusivity agreement may be signed concerning the Result of a Federation Project, or any other agreement which would limit the expected benefits in terms of the distribution of Results from a Project.
- this way and with the exception of any clause to the contrary stipulated within the Partner Agreement, the Partner recognises that its Resources may be integrated within the Results distributed publicly. At a minimum, such utilisation will be authorised free of charge and for the integration in the Result only.
- the Partners shall comply with the Federation [Patent policy].
- the Partners shall comply with the Federation [Brand policy].
- When using a Result from a Federation Project in the context of their own activity, the Partners shall not lead to believe that these products or services are supplied, sponsored or supported by the OSM Association and that their staff are neither employed, nor affiliated with the OSM Association.
In the event of non-compliance with the previous commitments, the OSM Association may terminate the Partner Agreement at any time as a result of the Partner failing.