Re: [Devel] Apple Licenses Question

[Daniel Migowski]

Hi, David, hi, all,

> > There are basically two patents:
> > - the other targets the broader part, that is the concept of
> > projection vector (which almost any practical use of TrueType for
> > hinting use).
> >
>
> I shall add that what is really covered by the patent is the
> case where the "freedom" and "projection" vectors are not in
> the same direction during "move" instructions..
>
> In 95% cases, they're in the same direction, and there is just
> tons of prior art for these operations. However, as soon as you
> start hinting diagonals, you need the patented behaviour.
>
> This explains the glyphs displayed in "patents.html" (those with
> no diagonals don't seem to suffer much from the "change"..)

I got the following idea as a "workaround" for the patent.
As far as I see at the moment, its no problem to deliever a truetype VM,
if it doesn't use the DELTA instructions or can handle opcodes,
that work on freedom and projection vectors which are not orthogonal.

OK, there are fonts, which use the above technologie, but we have the
truetype VM, and why can't we write some code (a compiler), that decodes
the instructions in TrueType-fonts, and replaces them by code, that
does the actual projection? OK, we have to blow up existing fonts,
but if only the result matters, who cares?

Then the truetype engine is completly free. The other question is, if the
compiler is free then. It does not use the patentet technologie 'to render'
fonts, it just replaces instructions, which result in new fonts, that look
the
same. One could also call these fonts TuxType fonts.

OK, the problem is to deliver TuxType fonts directly, because they are
derived
work from copyrighted fonts (mostly) but if one lets freetype just see,
if the tuxtype compiler is available, and then switch to a simplified
truetype engine,
and compile truetype fonts to tuxtype fonts, would this be problematic?

Btw, maybe font foundrys would then just convert their fonts to TuxType, to
make
them linux compatible?


Regards,
    Daniel Migowski

PS: Please tell me, if I missed some point.
PPS: Or is it illegal for a compiler, to produce patented code?