 | |
| Author | SIL Global |
|---|---|
| Latest version | 1.1 |
| Published | February 2007; 18 years ago (2007-02) |
| Debian FSG compatible | Yes[1] |
| FSFapproved | Yes[2] |
| OSIapproved | Yes[3] |
| Copyleft | Yes[2] |
| Website | openfontlicense |
TheSIL Open Font License (orOFL 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 afree andopen source license.[6][7] It was created bySIL Global, the organization behindEthnologue.
The Open Font License was created by SIL Global employees Victor Gaultney and Nicolas Spalinger.[8][9] Gaultney had previously designed theGentium font and was unsatisfied with existing font licenses.[8]
The Open Font License was designed for use with many of SIL'sUnicode fonts, includingGentium Plus,Charis SIL, andAndika.[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, theBitstream 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]
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 theFree Software Foundation (FSF)[2] and theDebian 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 simplehello world program.[2]
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| Operating system, corporate and professional |
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