[tex-live] Re: License of fonts included in X.org sources

[Nathanael Nerode]

Ralf Stubner wrote:

> I digged into groups.google.com and found the original press release:
> 
>
http://groups.google.de/group/comp.windows.x/browse_thread/thread/d351921a604a4039/a3e406813544b498
> 
> Mountain View, Calif. (October 9, 1991) - Adobe Systems Incorporated today
> announced it has donated four typefaces from its Utopia(R) typeface family
> in Adobe's Type 1 font format to the Massachusetts Institute of
> Technology's X Consortium.
> [....]
> 
> Of course, it says nothing about the license agreement between Adobe and
> the MIT X Consortium. There are several quotes from the README as found
> in X11R5:
> 
>
http://groups.google.de/group/comp.fonts/browse_thread/thread/e9fb6bf9e7307b55/0fb5cf456fc7c5bb
>
http://groups.google.de/group/comp.fonts/browse_thread/thread/f220077dbf0a69e0/dcce8a6a0702ffdb
>
http://groups.google.de/group/comp.fonts/browse_thread/thread/66b0e1a98caf514f/c3f51fb7aa5641af
> 
> ,----
> | In the interests of furthering standards for the X Window System, Adobe
> | Systems Incorporated has contributed to the X Consortium and its members
> | the Adobe typeface software listed below. This Adobe Type 1 font
> | software donation will now allow users to experience and freely use
> | traditional high-quality Adobe type in the X Window environment.
> | 
> | Permission to use, reproduce, display and distribute the listed
> | typefaces is hereby granted, provided that the Adobe Copyright notice
> | appears in all whole and partial copies of the software and that the
> | following trademark symbol and attribution appear in all unmodified
> | copies of the software:
> | 
> |         Copyright (c) 1989 Adobe Systems Incorporated
> |         Utopia (R)
> |         Utopia is a registered trademark of Adobe Systems Incorporated
> | 
> | The Adobe typefaces (Type 1 font program, bitmaps and Adobe Font Metric
> | files) donated are:
> | 
> |         Utopia Regular
> |         Utopia Italic
> |         Utopia Bold
> |         Utopia Bold Italic
> | 
> | Adobe Systems Incorporated
> `----

OK, based on this, Adobe still holds the copyrights.  It hasn't granted
explicit modification permission -- but appears to have intended to, given
the word 'unmodfied' in the trademark clause.

Perhaps we could simply ask Adobe's legal department for a clarification
that this license means that we can make and redistribute modified
versions.  I think we should be able to get these fonts in Debian proper.

> Which is more or less what we have on CTAN now. I think it would be good
> if this were readded to the X.org CVS, so that the utopia fonts could be
> included in xfonts-scalable-nonfree again.
> 
> Of course, asking Adobe to clarify the situation would be even better.

-- 
ksig --random|