SIL Open Font License
 | |
| Author | SIL Global |
|---|---|
| Latest version | 1.1 |
| Published | February 2007 |
| Debian FSG compatible | Yes[1] |
| FSF approved | Yes[2] |
| OSI approved | Yes[3] |
| Copyleft | Yes[2] |
| Website | openfontlicense |
The SIL Open Font License (or OFL in short) is one of the major open font licenses, which allows embedding, or "bundling",[4] of the font in commercially sold products.[5]
OFL is a free and open source license.[6][7] It was created by SIL Global, the organization behind Ethnologue.
History
[edit]The Open Font License was created by SIL Global employees Victor Gaultney and Nicolas Spalinger.[8][9] Gaultney had previously designed the Gentium font and was unsatisfied with existing font licenses.[8]
The Open Font License was designed for use with many of SIL's Unicode fonts, including Gentium, Charis SIL, and Andika.[6] The license was in a "public review" stage between 2005 and 2007[9] and version 1.1 was published in February 2007.[9]
Prior to the release of the OFL, the Bitstream Vera fonts had been released in 2003 under most of the same terms and conditions.[10]
Open-source fonts are a popular choice among designers, and most open-source fonts utilize the Open Font License.[11] For example, it was used to license a font made by the US government.[12]
Terms
[edit]The Open Font License is a free software license, and as such permits the fonts to be used, modified, and distributed freely (so long as the resulting fonts remain under the Open Font License). However, the copyright holder may declare the font's name as being a "Reserved Font Name", which modified versions then cannot bear. (This includes subsetting for web fonts.) The license permits covered fonts to be freely embedded in documents under any terms. The only stipulation is that fonts cannot be sold on their own, though they may be included in software bundles for sale.[6]
The license is considered free by the Free Software Foundation (FSF)[2] and the Debian project.[1] Although the license requires fonts to be bundled with software when sold, FSF states that this requirement is harmless because it can be satisfied with a simple hello world program.[2]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- 1 2 "The DFSG and Software Licenses". Debian. Retrieved 29 March 2025.
- 1 2 3 4 "Licenses for Fonts – SIL Open Font License 1.1". gnu.org. Retrieved 29 March 2025.
- ↑ "SIL OPEN FONT LICENSE (OFL-1.1) | Open Source Initiative". Retrieved 29 March 2025.
- ↑ Spalinger, Nicolas; Gaultney, Victor (27 November 2023). "Question: 1.15 What about distributing fonts with a document? Within a compressed folder structure? Is it distribution, bundling or embedding?". OFL-FAQ web version (1.1-update7). SIL International.
- ↑ Garish, Matt; Gylling, Markus (2013). Epub 3 Best Practices (PDF). O’Reilly Media, Inc. p. 139. ISBN 978-1-449-32914-3. Archived (PDF) from the original on 3 November 2019.
- 1 2 3 "OFL fonts". SIL Open Font License. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
- ↑ "Open Source License Comparison Grid" (PDF). CMU. Archived (PDF) from the original on 21 September 2017. Retrieved 3 November 2019.
- 1 2 Suehle, Ruth. "Then, now, and the future of open source fonts". Opensource.com. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
- 1 2 3 "SIL Open Font License (OFL)". Retrieved 29 March 2025.
- ↑ "Bitstream Vera Fonts – April 16, 2003 – GNOME". Retrieved 5 March 2021.
- ↑ Wagner, Josh; Stein, Joel (21 August 2020). "Goldman Sachs Has Money. It Has Power. And Now It Has a Font". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
- ↑ "Why the US Government Just Made Its Own Font". Vice.com. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
External links
[edit]- SIL Open Font License version 1.1
- SIL Open Font License FAQ
- Linux.com: SIL Open Font License revised
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