Neo900 is based on TI beagleboard / Zoom2, like N900 and GTA04. If chinese copycats would want to copy the design, they could've done based on beagleboard long ago.
I promised in post#1 that we're doing an open device and we don't work behind walls. This means that we even might opt for an inferior and more expensive hardware when the alternative is not open, means no docs publicly available. Neo900 will be as open and documented as it gets, to the limits of us not publishing the project files since those only help copycats.
When there will be "closed blobs" in the hardware then only because even we didn't find any (publicly available) docs for that particular component and we had no other option than using this component - see Option modems. See plans for FreeCalypso modem alternative. It's your hardware, you paid for every single resistor in it, so I personally feel it's fair you know what you purchased, by us documenting each single resistor and other component. This openness is our core sales argument.
/j

on a sidenote: I didn't start this venture to get rich by it, I just want a future for the only phone and OS I like to use, and I'm happy when we can produce and sell enough to keep the ecosystem alive so I don't need to worry about bitrot and no spare hardware available. Of course I somehow have to take care about my bagles as well, more than I did during last 9 months, or eventually I won't be able to continue on such projects