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List:       kde-licensing
Subject:    Re: Oxygen font licensing
From:       Richard Stallman <rms () gnu ! org>
Date:       2012-01-29 14:08:21
Message-ID: E1RrVQb-0000r0-Tt () fencepost ! gnu ! org
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    If a copyleft font is embedded in a document - such as a portion of a
    TrueType font data file being copied into a PDF document file in order
    for the document to always render using that font, even if the font is
    not installed in the user's system - the PDF may be considered to be a
    'combined work,' combining the fonts, images and texts into a single
    work.

Just being one file does not imply it is a combined work.
After all, a tar file is one file, but the Emacs tar file
contains GPL-covered source code and GFDL-covered documentation.
(Those two licenses are not compatible.)

A PDF file is not exactly like a tar file, but maybe the conclusion
should be the same.

    The GNU project's GPL FAQ has a section about this topic -
    http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-faq.html#FontException - which takes
    the position that PDF font embedding _can_ be considered subject to
    the GPL's copyleft and therefore suggests adding an 'additional
    permission' that allows PDF embedded with GPL fonts:

It also says that this is an "exploratory essay."

The FSF will look further at this case.

-- 
Dr Richard Stallman
President, Free Software Foundation
51 Franklin St
Boston MA 02110
USA
www.fsf.org  www.gnu.org
Skype: No way! That's nonfree (freedom-denying) software.
  Use free telephony http://directory.fsf.org/category/tel/
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