[davidw]

You are making the mistake of equating 'visible source code' with 'Open Source', which has a fairly precise meaning, which explicitly allows copying:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Open_Source_Definition

Making the source code visible would probably be sensible in this case though, so I think the idea is a good one even if you need to be careful with the terminology.

[fpgaminer]

Sorry, I forgot to put the necessary disclaimer in my post stating my intended meaning of open source. You're right, I used it in the 'visible' sense of the word, not 'libre'.