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Unintended Consequences of Using GPL Fonts

Posted by timothy on from the say-what-now dept.

innocent_white_lamb writes "An interesting discussion has surfaced on the Scribus mailing list. Simply stated, it appears that using GPL-licensed fonts in a document makes your document subject to the GPL. There are a lot of consequences here, such as internal corporate communications. It appears to make the use of GPL fonts undesirable in almost any document." Yes, it sounds crazy, but the experimental font-exception addition to the GPL (linked from the discussion) lends the idea some credence.

4 of 514 comments (clear)

  1. And you say GPL isnt viral by nurb432 · · Score: 1, Flamebait

    If this isnt an prime example right in your face, i dont know what is.

    BSD type licensing is free, and isnt viral..

    --
    ---- Booth was a patriot ----
  2. Uhhh by nurb432 · · Score: 1, Flamebait

    You just proved my point that BSD is more free.

    I dont about your statement about the original intent when the BSD license was created. Unless you were there, and want to contradict its framers then you are wrong. They knew what they were doing, and the intent was pretty clear. It still is.

    In general, my statements are all about relative amounts of freedom that are at issue with these licenses. In a relative sense, i am correct.

    You may choose to hide your head in the sand even when presented with a prime example as the story topic but that doesnt make the reality of the GPL being *less free* and *viral at its core* go away.

    Even the idiot who created the GPL *intended* it to be viral.. look at his reasonings for how its written.. It MEANT it to be viral so that everything 'must be free' and remove rights from the users of the code.. He didnt want one to have the rights to choose, as is with other licenses.

    Geesh .. are all of you this dense not to see it? Im not saying you cant choose under which license you want to be *controlled* by, only that you see it for what it is.

    --
    ---- Booth was a patriot ----
  3. MOD PARENT UP by Paridel · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    This is true... people throw the term FUD around way too much.

  4. Re:Why not... by Pieroxy · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    I am sorry, but all this sounds utterly stupid. And if your document becomes GPL, so what? All people you give it to must have access to... the source code? But you're distributing them the doc, which is its own source code...

    I don't see anything worth any trouble here...

    --
    Write boring code, not shiny code!