GPLv3 Comments regarding Fonts
I’ve just made 2 more comments on the GPLv3, after reading Richard and Ciaran’s transcripts of the GPLv3 conference in Tokyo last week.
The first was regarding “Artistic Integrity”:
Can ‘artistic integrity’ be protected while maintaining software freedom, like the SIL Open Font License does? Since GPL compatibility is useful since most existing Free Fonts are under the GPL, this could make GPLv3 FontAddition the best license for the new but emerging Free Font Movement! I wrote about this in a long and reflective way on my blog and the comment from a Free Culture artist nicely defined what I mean by ‘artistic integrity.’ To ensure there is no confusion, the SIL OFL uses a list of reserved names. This requirement has been deemed “Free” by the FSF already, and other important community organisations, as described on the Go For OFL! page Perhaps this could be included as a permitted additional requirement?
I also made a less controversial comment on font embedding:
Font embedding clarification“When using the GPL for a font, what happens to documents that use the font? As far as I know, there is no problem using GPL version 2 or 3 for fonts. Now, you might want to state explicitly that you don’t regard documents that have text in the font as being linked with the font, and let those documents be licenced in any way people wish. You could put an exception, an additional permission on the font, saying that you don’t insist on anything about the licensing of documents which use the font.”- RMS Could such an additional permission be included as standard in GPLv3? Perhaps more generally, writing example/recommended Additional Terms, such as for font embedding, could be included in the license text itself, or at least a link to a FSF website that will be short and able to stand the test of time.
The GPLv3 Comments regarding Fonts by David Crossland, except the quotations and unless otherwise expressly stated, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.
November 27, 2006 | Filed Under Personal Thoughts
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