I'd like to highlight the fact that copyleft licensing also creates license incompatibility issues that prevent its use in many open source projects, and the same would apply to open hardware projects in the future. There are those (particularly certain systems-oriented luminaries) who have taken to referring to copyleft licenses as "anti-collaboration" licenses for this reason, and while I try to avoid adopting such snarky terms for my own use, it's worth noting the strength of opinion and specific problems relating to copyleft licenses.
As for me personally . . . I'm an open source developer and advocate with a history of writing very pro-open-source articles for a (somewhat?) major online tech publication, and I am one of quite a few people I know who refuse to throw any significant code into the legal compatibility black hole of copyleft licensed projects. I would, therefore, be considerably less likely to show interest in RISC-V if it was copyleft.
I've also noted that in recent years new copyleft projects (except in particular niche areas where people apparently haven't heard of non-copyleft open source licenses) tend to suffer problems with rate of popular uptake. I'd hate to see that happen to such an obviously excellence-aimed open hardware project as RISC-V.
As for me personally . . . I'm an open source developer and advocate with a history of writing very pro-open-source articles for a (somewhat?) major online tech publication, and I am one of quite a few people I know who refuse to throw any significant code into the legal compatibility black hole of copyleft licensed projects. I would, therefore, be considerably less likely to show interest in RISC-V if it was copyleft.
I've also noted that in recent years new copyleft projects (except in particular niche areas where people apparently haven't heard of non-copyleft open source licenses) tend to suffer problems with rate of popular uptake. I'd hate to see that happen to such an obviously excellence-aimed open hardware project as RISC-V.