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List:       koffice-devel
Subject:    Due Dilligence: licensing of the GIMP gradients? (fwd)
From:       Alan Horkan <horkana () maths ! tcd ! ie>
Date:       2005-09-13 13:28:57
Message-ID: Pine.BSF.4.58L0.0509131428070.63787 () bell ! maths ! tcd ! ie
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[oops resending]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Tue, 13 Sep 2005 14:24:56 +0100 (BST)
From: Alan Horkan <horkana@maths.tcd.ie>
To: create freedesktop org
Cc: koffice devel request kde org
Subject: Due Dilligence: licensing of the GIMP gradients?


I noticed a bit of proprietary software which looked as if it was using
gradients taken from the GIMP and converted to SVG.  Before accusing
anyone of anything I wondered if this might actually be entirely
reasonable given that users implicitly need this entitlement if they are
to incorporate any of the gradients or other resources into their work
without any copyright issues.  On thinking about it futher the way KOffice
uses Gimp Gradients they could very easily find themselves in themselves
in the same situation (which is why the koffice list is CC'ed this
message).

This got me thinking, if the GIMP source is under the GNU General Public
License (GPL) how do we know the Gradients are not also under the GPL?

Contributors intentions are hard to be sure of, given how the gradients
would have been used in a more indirect manner by binary image files as
opposed to formats like SVG where the gradients is effectively copied in
its entirity into the SVG file.  (Someone with more detailed knowledge of
the GIMP file format may be able to shonw a case where the gradient
information remains intact inside the file which would potentially render
this whole issue moot.)

I asked on irc.gnome.org#gimp and intened to follow up on it later.
Carol Spears very helpfully did some research on my behalf (thanks Carol)
and found a page [1] about the gimp gradient editor:
http://www.nuclecu.unam.mx/~federico/gimp/gradient-editor/ which includes
attribution for the gradients should anyone need to know.

Federico Mena Quintero also let it be clear his contributions could be
considered Public Domain and there would be no isssue relating to
incorporating them into other works or other formats.

Perhaps it is a non issue but if anyone is ever wondering I have made an
effort to check and you are probably okay.  If in doubt the names of the
people in question are available and you could probably track them down if
absolutely necessary.

Sincerely

Alan Horkan

Inkscape http://inkscape.org
Abiword http://www.abisource.com
Dia http://gnome.org/projects/dia/
Open Clip Art http://OpenClipArt.org

Alan's Diary http://advogato.org/person/AlanHorkan/

[1] Web Archive: Gimp Gradient Editor
http://web.archive.org/*/http://www.nuclecu.unam.mx/~federico/gimp/gradient-editor/

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