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Re: DFSG + Hack typeface license with transition to proposed new source file build in Debian package



On Wed, 16 Aug 2017 08:40:00 -0400 Chris Simpkins wrote:

> [...] Downstream open source project font licensing from the days
> prior to SIL OFL (and to some degree even after that period) is a
> bit of a quagmire.

Hello,
I agree that font licensing is a quagmire.

Well, I even go further and personally think that it is a real mess:
I wish more fonts were simply released under the terms of wide-spread
and well understood licenses (such as the Expat/MIT license or the GNU
GPL v2 + font exception)... Doing so would spare a good number of
headaches to many people!

> 
> Item 2 is where the reserved font name declaration is located.
> I have been considering modification of the language here to permit
> forks to use “Hack” in the name, but not “Hack” alone for a forked
> typeface.
[...]

Personally speaking, I would encourage you to at least relax this
restriction (or, even better, to drop it entirely).
That way, only one name (or no name) would be forbidden for derivative
fonts and everything would be simpler...

[...]
> It is a  downside in the typeface software development area that
> is in need of repair.  But it is a reality that we face.

I personally think that technical issues should not be worked around by
imposing licensing restrictions.
If typeface development tools need to be improved in order to get
better QA, then I hope they can be enhanced from a *technical* point of
view. In the meanwhile, licensing restrictions should not be introduced
to compensate for technical limitations.
This is my personal opinion.

I hope this helps.
Bye.


-- 
 http://www.inventati.org/frx/
 There's not a second to spare! To the laboratory!
..................................................... Francesco Poli .
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