[font-licensing] GUST font license Question regarding embedding

[Maximilian Bloch]

Hi guys,

As a distributor of free fonts and also as an avid Linux user for over 
20 years I am in the process of writing an FAQ regarding the GUST font 
license <https://www.gust.org.pl/projects/e-foundry/licenses> and I am 
hoping someone here could give me feedback by pointing out possible 
mistakes or help formulate a better more precise answer?

    Q: does the GUST font license (GFL) allow embedding in a portable
    digital document like PDF or an ebook?

    A: Most likely yes, but not 100% reliably. Even if possibly all
    authors of GFL licensed fonts may have intended to allow embedding
    in portable digital documents, the GUST font license is
    unfortunately a bit ambiguous. For sure, fonts licensed under the
    GUST font license (GFL) can be used freely and restrictions only
    apply tomodification and distribution
    <https://www.latex-project.org/lppl/lppl-1-3c/#conditions-on-distribution-and-modification>of
    the font files themselves.

    The actual question then would be: "Is embedding a font into a PDF
    or ebook considered a modification of the font?" While technically
    this can be the case, as some bits and bytes may be altered, the
    intended visual outcome of using the font remains the same. Also
    considering that the font is not intended for use outside of the
    created document, distribution of the document does not have to be
    viewed as a distribution of the font.

    The GUST font license (GFL) does not explicitly depict embedding, so
    the license could raise questions among technical savvy users and
    interpretation of the license becomes a matter of opinion. This is
    the reason why thefont exception
    <https://spdx.org/licenses/Font-exception-2.0.html>clause has been
    added to the similar GNU GPL license and also why the similarSIL OFL
    license
    <https://scripts.sil.org/cms/scripts/page.php?site_id=nrsi&id=OFL>was
    born, where embedding isexplicitly allowed
    <https://scripts.sil.org/cms/scripts/page.php?site_id=nrsi&id=ofl-faq_web#dc00d574>.

Thanks for your support.

Best,
Max

-- 
pic 	
Maximilian Bloch
Founder & Owner
1001fonts.com <https://www.1001fonts.com>
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