Shen Ying, China Academy of communications and communications: font open source protocol -- Introduction to ofl v1.1 and analysis of key points of compliance

| Reprinted from ： Intellectual Property Center of China Academy of information and communication

| edit ： Gaoyiyang

| Coordinating editor ： Qian yingyu

| Design ： Malina

introduction

Open source namely open source, It mainly refers to a software release mode . The author of the software grants the software user the right to copy the code under the open source license agreement 、 function 、 modify 、 Distribution and modified distribution . The concept of open source has evolved so far , Has been covered to include open source software 、 Open source hardware 、 The broad category of open source documents . Because the distribution process of a large number of software products and hardware devices is inevitably accompanied by the distribution of fonts , So we need to understand an open source category that is often overlooked —— Font open source .

From the perspective of intellectual property , Font is also a form of expression of intellectual achievements . From a technical point of view , Fonts are part of computer software in a sense , Protected by copyright law . therefore , The installation or use of fonts requires the permission of the obligee . The license for the font is made by the font author , Open source licensing is one of the optional forms . Fonts licensed through open source can be obtained for free 、 Free use and sharing .

OFL Interpretation of open source agreement

Most of the time , The application of fonts usually includes graphic printing or embedding in software projects . Generally speaking , In the context of font open source , have access to Apahce2.0 perhaps BSD Authorization by agreement , There are also open source licenses for fonts , Such as OFL license . for example , Google website font license agreement properties , Part of it is based on APACHE2.0 Of , And the other part is OFL Of .OFL The full name of the agreement is SIL Open Font License, It is an open source license specially established for fonts and related software based on relevant practical experience in font design and language software engineering , The most common version at present is V1.1. The license agreement is approved by the open source Promotion Association (OSI, Organizations that set standards for open source protocols ) authentication ,OSI It was posted on the official website OFL V1.1 The English full text of the license . meanwhile OFL It is also a free software license agreement , At the free software foundation FSF The official website of provides information about OFLV1.1 Agreement text and FAQ Link to .

OFL V1.1 The license is issued on 2007 year 2 month 26 Japan , The license terms cover both print and font software . The full text of the license is divided into copyright notice template 、 preface 、 Definition 、 Terms of authorization and Disclaimer , The following will be interpreted one by one ：
1、 Copyright notice
Consistent with the copyright notices of most open source license agreements ,OFL V1.1 The copyright notice template of the license contains the copyright logo 、 date 、 Copyright holder and contact information .
2、 preface
The preface mainly expounds OFL The gist of the license and the basic authorization principles ： On the premise that the font itself is not allowed to be sold separately , Encourage the use of fonts 、 Study 、 Modification and free dissemination .
3、 Definition
The definitions section describes the terms used in the terms of the agreement , Include “ Font software ”、“ Keep font name ”、“ The original version ”、“ Revised version ” and “ author ”.
4、 Terms of authorization
The licensing terms stipulate the various permissions granted by the font copyright owner to the font user and the attached constraints . The terms of authorization in this part can be divided into three categories , They are the powers granted 、 Proposed restrictions and prohibitions . The powers granted can be summed up in two points ： First, the printed matter can use the font for free, and the printed matter using the font can be used commercially, and the printed matter does not need to carry the copyright notice and license text to use the font . The second is to use the font source file in the computer software , You need to carry the copyright notice and license text when distributing the software that uses the font source file , Except that the software only mentions the font name and does not call the font source file . The main limitations include ： The font itself cannot be sold separately , And the modified font is not allowed to use the reserved font name . Prohibited items are ： It is not allowed to use the name of the font copyright owner or organization for product publicity and promotion without explicit authorization .
5、 disclaimer
The disclaimer section is consistent with most open source software license agreements , Offer not to guarantee any risk arising from the use of this font , Including but not limited to product quality risk and infringement risk .

OFL Open source agreement compliance points

In the use of OFL V1.1 License building products, especially embedding open source font resources into the process of commercialization of software projects , Different usage behaviors and scenarios should be discussed , basis OFL V1.1 Compliance review of license terms , Ensure that open source fonts are used in compliance without violating relevant constraints . Common usage behaviors are divided into : Use and distribution of fonts 、 Use fonts in web pages and online services 、 Modify the authorized font, etc .

The distribution of fonts includes publishing 、 printing 、 Distributed with software and storage media , In addition to printing and Publishing , Most distributions are subject to the obligation to attach copyright notices and license texts . Will carry OFL License fonts are aggregated with the software and distributed , Only part of the font based software is required according to OFL Release , Instead of OFL The relevant obligations of the are passed on to the entire software . meanwhile , Based on the aggregation relationship between font and software, it does not belong to the merging relationship between software in the general sense , So the distributor doesn't need to consider OFL Compatibility issues with other open source licenses , Use OFL The font of the license can be the same as GPL、BSD And other software released under the license .

Use in web pages or online services OFL Fonts are a kind of usage behavior different from distribution ,OFL Encourage this kind of use , It also provides a web page style that is easy to use Cascading Style Sheets, It is advocated to quote Cascading Style Sheets Open fonts that may be used on the user's system , Or provide a link to download the complete font package and install it by the user , You can also use @font-face Distribute fonts directly to browsers .

It should be noted that , If you need to make and use Web Open Font Format edition （ hereinafter referred to as WOFF） Of OFL typeface , The adjustment of font format will be regarded as the modification of font , Care should be taken to avoid the use of reserved font names . Make WOFF Font process , except WOFF The original font data outside the compression remains unchanged , And completely omitted WOFF Specific metadata or retention WOFF The fact that the default metadata value remains unchanged is not considered as a modification of the font , During the corresponding compliance inspection, carefully confirm whether the tools or services used by technicians have changed the original font metadata . Most common WOFF Transformation tools and online services do not meet the above constraints , Therefore, when using it to make fonts, its output results should be regarded as the font that produces the modification .

summary

Fonts and software 、 Literary works 、 Product design, etc , It is an expression of the creative achievements of intelligence . Open source fonts belong to the broad open source category , Open source fonts involve two scenarios: print and font software .OFL V1.1 Is one of the most commonly used open source font license agreements , Is a OSI Approved open source agreement , The agreement specifies the rights granted by the font copyright owner to the font user and the attached constraints , This paper interprets the main parts of the agreement text , And then to the application OFL Analyze the compliance points of the protocol for font distribution .OFL Allow commercial use of , And there are no compatibility issues with other license agreements . Use OFL In the process of font distribution by the protocol, specific usage scenarios and behaviors shall be discussed , Conduct compliance analysis according to the terms of the agreement , Note that fonts are not sold separately 、 No illegal use of reserved font names and other restrictions , In addition, it is necessary to fulfill the license obligation of providing copyright notice and license text in necessary scenarios .

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Introduction to Kaiyuan society

Kaiyuan society was founded in 2014 year , It's made up of individual members who volunteer to contribute to the cause of open source , In accordance with the “ contribution 、 Consensus 、 Co governance ” Composed of principles , Always maintain vendor neutrality 、 public welfare 、 The characteristics of non-profit , It was the first to “ Open source governance 、 International connection 、 Community development 、 Open source project ” Open source community Consortium for mission . Open source community actively supports open source community 、 Enterprises and relevant government units work closely together , With “ Based on China 、 Contribute to the world ” For the vision , It aims to create a healthy and sustainable open source ecosystem , Promote China's open source community to become an active participant and contributor to the global open source system .

2017 year , The open source society has transformed into a completely composed of individual members , reference ASF And other international top open source foundations . In the last seven years , It links tens of thousands of open source people , Gathered thousands of community members and volunteers 、 Hundreds of lecturers at home and abroad , It has cooperated with nearly 100 sponsors 、 The media 、 Community partners .

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