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Re: [Devel] Apple patents (was `Some numbers smaller than some others')


From: Vadim Plessky
Subject: Re: [Devel] Apple patents (was `Some numbers smaller than some others')
Date: Thu, 20 Jun 2002 13:28:06 +0400
User-agent: KMail/1.4.1

On Thursday 20 June 2002 12:33 pm, Vincent Caron wrote:
|  On Wed, 2002-06-19 at 21:50, Sebastien BARRE wrote:
|  > I mean, we will redistribute Freetype inside VTK
|  > (http://www.visualizationtoolkit.org/), which is OpenSource. Still, what
|  > would allow us to enable it ? I'm confused by that issue.

Tip: use PostScript Type1 fonts.
Freetype has very good support for those fonts.
And you don't need TT Bytecode interpreter in such case! :-)

|
|  I must admit I'm a bit confused myself. I'm wondering if the restriction
|  apply when redistributing source code implementing a patented process,
|  when actively choosing to use the patented process or not a compile
|  time, or when using the resulting binary code. Since the patented
|  TrueType instructions are still present in FT2's source code, I wonder
|  how a macro can remove the patent restriction.
|
|  Seeing Mandrake's or RedHat's RPMs of FreeType compiled with the
|  TrueType bytecode interpreter, I could only think they purchased a

AFAIK Mandrake's FreeType RPM compiled without TrueType ByteCode interpreter 
turned On.
But Debian enabled thit TT Bytecode interpreter by default.

|  license from Apple. However Debian also ships FreeType compiled with the
|  bytecode interpreter, and they have a definitively clear policy against
|  patents.

AFAIK you can download it from mirrors outside US.
apt-get effectively allows this.
As about mandrake - you can get RPMs with Interpreter enabled downloading 
TexStar RPMs. (not Mandrake official ones)

|
|  It seems that Apple is just plainly tolerant for now, we are evidently
|  an important figure of people using FreeType and the full bytecode
|  interpreter without paying a fee to them. However, as said in FreeType's
|  'patent issue' page, they enjoy new revenues thru licensing and can't be
|  unhappy about TrueType technology being available everywhere for
|  everyone.

IMO the Right Way is enhance PostScript auto-hinter and support for PostScript 
Type1 fonts. SanSerif fonts are rendering fine in my FT 2.0.9, Serif'ed fonts 
support needd enhancement.
David Turner promised to take a look on it *after* FT 2.1.1 release. ;-)


-- 

Vadim Plessky
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