Re: Licensing Fonts

[Geoffrey Washburn]

John Hasler wrote:
> > Regardless, my goals are to protect the "user's rights to use,
study,
> > copy, modify, and redistribute the program" that generates my
typeface.
>
> Then release it under the GPL.
>
> > I am not all that concerned about protecting the actual images
generated
> > by my program describing the typeface.
>
> So you are talking about a program with which the user generates
typefaces?
> If any part of what you distribute ends up in the generated typefaces
place
> those parts in the public domain.  If not, don't worry about it: any
> copyright in the generated typefaces will belong to the user.

I would be okay with releasing it under the GPL, I guess I am just
unclear on how to interpret it in the context of a METAFONT program.
One interpretation is that when you run "mf" you are compiling the
METAFONT program to an executable or object code derived from the
METAFONT source, especially in the case of Type1 fonts.  I could
equally well see how it could be instead be interpreted that running
"mf" is simply the same as running an interpreter on the METAFONT
program and producing some output.  I would prefer the latter
interpretation, but not sure how to make sure this is the accepted one.