Back to the list( was Any objection to the OFL?)

Wed Jul 11 15:43:01 UTC 2007

Hi Machado,

Great to hear from you. 

You're right that the Open Font License in not appropriate for 
software.  The GPL is a good choice.

Licensing and terms can get confusing, but I think we're on track.  To 
rehash...

MovementWriting is for writing any human movement.  The current IMWA 
does not contain everything needed for MovementWriting.

SignWriting is a subset of MovementWriting and is used for writing sign 
language.  Val is working on an International SignWriting Alphabet that 
will be a cleaned up version of the IMWA.  It will remove some of the 
unneeded MovementWriting symbols, add some needed handshapes, and 
include consistent white palms for all handshapes.  This will be the 
ISWA version 1.0 and it will keep the current symbol organization and 
structure.  Later she will be working on the ISWA 2.0 which will 
reorganize some of the symbols for a better, more consistent structure. 
(specifically the contact symbols)

The ISWA 1.0 will be the first font officially released under the OFL.  
The OFL allows derivative works to be released under the OFL.  So you'll 
be able to license the SVG version yourself under the OFL.  The only 
complication is that you're not allowed to use the original font name 
without permission, but I know that Val will gladly give permission.

We're all grateful for your work.  I'm excited to use the SVG version in 
the future.  What an exciting time.

Regards,
-Steve

machado at softwarelivre.org wrote:
> Hello, there!
>
> I'm trully sorry for so long time in silence. I resume my humble 
> participation in this list by answering an old question from Val(see 
> Val's message below).
>
> Well, when I sent you guys my script for creating SSS2004 SVG symbols
> I licensed only that script. I used GPL[1] for the script and stated
> that the symbols license should be checked/obtained from DAC or Sutton
> Center. I can't remember the exact term and words. But that  was the
> idea.
>
> Since I'm not the one who created IWMA2004 neither work for
> them(yet  :) ) I could not license the symbol set.
> I could have licensed that png files set(as a derivative work of my
> script). But it didn't seem fair to me.
> Then I asked Val what would we do and she told me that people like,
> Gerard, Steve, Bill and others was investigating this issue.
>
> It was a long and pleasant conversation about this topic some time
> ago, through an instant messenger. Thanks again, Val!
>
> I believe that Bill or Gerard said in other emails that we should use
> OFL for SSS/IWMA fonts we create. But not software. :) See my argument
> [2]
> I totally agree with them. Rocha Costa's SW Edit uses GPL, which seems
> an appropriate licensed to be used for our softwares.
>
> By the way, I have another small script
>
> I'm sorry, I haven't read the entire email thread on this topic. I may
> be missing something.
>
> All the best
>
> [1] http://www.fsf.org/licensing/licenses/gpl.html
> [2] http://www.fsf.org/licensing/licenses/index_html#Fonts
>
> Machado
> ******************************************************
> 9° Forum Internacional Software Livre - fisl9.0
> http://fisl.softwarelivre.org/  - Abril de 2008
> Porto Alegre, RS - Brasil
> ******************************************************
>
>
>
> Quoting Valerie Sutton <signwriting at MAC.COM>:
>
>> SignWriting List
>> June 6, 2007
>>
>> Hello Steve!
>> Thank you for investigating the issues surrounding the OFL, and thanks
>> also to Gerard for suggesting the OFL.
>>
>> No objection from me...I personally welcome it and think it is a good
>> idea. Unless someone else using SignWriting objects...
>>
>> Steve - I believe you communicated with the OFL people through email,
>> is that correct? And I assume they answered all your questions...
>>
>> I do have a question about the SVG symbols that are already designed by
>> Machado in Brazil...
>>
>> I believe Machado also used a license on his current SVG for the
>> SSS-2004, which you can find on this web page:
>>
>> IMWA Downloads
>> http://www.movementwriting.org/symbolbank/IMWA-Downloads.html
>>
>> Machado told me he has a license on it, but I cannot find the license
>> he used...can you find the name of it? I believe it is a free license
>> as well...
>>
>> Machado said he would help us with creating the ISWA-2007 in SVG...I
>> assume we will use what is already done, and then add the changes...
>>
>> Or maybe it is easier to start from scratch based on the new PNGs, I
>> don't know...
>>
>> Will using the OFL for the ISWA-2007 PNGs, create a problem, if we
>> choose to use some of the old SVG to create the new ISWA-2007 svg later?
>>
>> Conflicts between licenses? ;-))
>>
>> Val ;-)
>>
>>
>> -------------
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> On Jun 6, 2007, at 8:23 AM, Steve Slevinski wrote:
>>
>>> Hi All,
>>>
>>> We've been discussing licensing issues for SignWriting.  I think   
>>> the Open Font License is ideal for the SignWriting symbol sets.
>>>
>>> You can read the online version:
>>> http://scripts.sil.org/cms/scripts/page.php?site_id=nrsi&item_id=OFL_web 
>>>
>>>
>>> Under the OFL, I do not see any negatives and many positives.  This 
>>>   is not a major change compared to what we are doing right now.
>>> This licensing is important for widespread adoption in the free and 
>>>   open source world as well as the proprietary, commercial world.
>>> You will be free to use the symbol sets for any type of writing.    
>>> You will be free to use the symbol set with software and include   
>>> the symbol set as part of the software.  You will be free to modify 
>>>   the symbol set as long as you release the modified symbol set  
>>> under  the OFL.  You can redistribute the symbol set almost any way 
>>>  you  want.  The main restriction is that you can't sell the font 
>>> by   itself.
>>>
>>> Does anyone have  any concerns?  Please ask questions or read the   
>>> license itself.  It's about 1 page long and can be read in about 5  
>>>  minutes.
>>> http://scripts.sil.org/cms/scripts/page.php?site_id=nrsi&item_id=OFL_web 
>>>
>>>
>>> Regards,
>>> -Steve
>>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>
>
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