Bitstream Vera Fonts Copyright | |
The fonts have a generous copyright, allowing derivative works (as | |
long as "Bitstream" or "Vera" are not in the names), and full | |
redistribution (so long as they are not *sold* by themselves). They | |
can be be bundled, redistributed and sold with any software. | |
The fonts are distributed under the following copyright: | |
Copyright | |
========= | |
Copyright (c) 2003 by Bitstream, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Bitstream | |
Vera is a trademark of Bitstream, Inc. | |
Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining | |
a copy of the fonts accompanying this license ("Fonts") and associated | |
documentation files (the "Font Software"), to reproduce and distribute | |
the Font Software, including without limitation the rights to use, | |
copy, merge, publish, distribute, and/or sell copies of the Font | |
Software, and to permit persons to whom the Font Software is furnished | |
to do so, subject to the following conditions: | |
The above copyright and trademark notices and this permission notice | |
shall be included in all copies of one or more of the Font Software | |
typefaces. | |
The Font Software may be modified, altered, or added to, and in | |
particular the designs of glyphs or characters in the Fonts may be | |
modified and additional glyphs or characters may be added to the | |
Fonts, only if the fonts are renamed to names not containing either | |
the words "Bitstream" or the word "Vera". | |
This License becomes null and void to the extent applicable to Fonts | |
or Font Software that has been modified and is distributed under the | |
"Bitstream Vera" names. | |
The Font Software may be sold as part of a larger software package but | |
no copy of one or more of the Font Software typefaces may be sold by | |
itself. | |
THE FONT SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, | |
EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY WARRANTIES OF | |
MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT | |
OF COPYRIGHT, PATENT, TRADEMARK, OR OTHER RIGHT. IN NO EVENT SHALL | |
BITSTREAM OR THE GNOME FOUNDATION BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR | |
OTHER LIABILITY, INCLUDING ANY GENERAL, SPECIAL, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, | |
OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR | |
OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF THE USE OR INABILITY TO USE THE FONT | |
SOFTWARE OR FROM OTHER DEALINGS IN THE FONT SOFTWARE. | |
Except as contained in this notice, the names of Gnome, the Gnome | |
Foundation, and Bitstream Inc., shall not be used in advertising or | |
otherwise to promote the sale, use or other dealings in this Font | |
Software without prior written authorization from the Gnome Foundation | |
or Bitstream Inc., respectively. For further information, contact: | |
fonts at gnome dot org. | |
Copyright FAQ | |
============= | |
1. I don't understand the resale restriction... What gives? | |
Bitstream is giving away these fonts, but wishes to ensure its | |
competitors can't just drop the fonts as is into a font sale system | |
and sell them as is. It seems fair that if Bitstream can't make money | |
from the Bitstream Vera fonts, their competitors should not be able to | |
do so either. You can sell the fonts as part of any software package, | |
however. | |
2. I want to package these fonts separately for distribution and | |
sale as part of a larger software package or system. Can I do so? | |
Yes. A RPM or Debian package is a "larger software package" to begin | |
with, and you aren't selling them independently by themselves. | |
See 1. above. | |
3. Are derivative works allowed? | |
Yes! | |
4. Can I change or add to the font(s)? | |
Yes, but you must change the name(s) of the font(s). | |
5. Under what terms are derivative works allowed? | |
You must change the name(s) of the fonts. This is to ensure the | |
quality of the fonts, both to protect Bitstream and Gnome. We want to | |
ensure that if an application has opened a font specifically of these | |
names, it gets what it expects (though of course, using fontconfig, | |
substitutions could still could have occurred during font | |
opening). You must include the Bitstream copyright. Additional | |
copyrights can be added, as per copyright law. Happy Font Hacking! | |
6. If I have improvements for Bitstream Vera, is it possible they might get | |
adopted in future versions? | |
Yes. The contract between the Gnome Foundation and Bitstream has | |
provisions for working with Bitstream to ensure quality additions to | |
the Bitstream Vera font family. Please contact us if you have such | |
additions. Note, that in general, we will want such additions for the | |
entire family, not just a single font, and that you'll have to keep | |
both Gnome and Jim Lyles, Vera's designer, happy! To make sense to add | |
glyphs to the font, they must be stylistically in keeping with Vera's | |
design. Vera cannot become a "ransom note" font. Jim Lyles will be | |
providing a document describing the design elements used in Vera, as a | |
guide and aid for people interested in contributing to Vera. | |
7. I want to sell a software package that uses these fonts: Can I do so? | |
Sure. Bundle the fonts with your software and sell your software | |
with the fonts. That is the intent of the copyright. | |
8. If applications have built the names "Bitstream Vera" into them, | |
can I override this somehow to use fonts of my choosing? | |
This depends on exact details of the software. Most open source | |
systems and software (e.g., Gnome, KDE, etc.) are now converting to | |
use fontconfig (see www.fontconfig.org) to handle font configuration, | |
selection and substitution; it has provisions for overriding font | |
names and subsituting alternatives. An example is provided by the | |
supplied local.conf file, which chooses the family Bitstream Vera for | |
"sans", "serif" and "monospace". Other software (e.g., the XFree86 | |
core server) has other mechanisms for font substitution. | |