1 Bitstream Vera Fonts Copyright
3 The fonts have a generous copyright, allowing derivative works (as
4 long as "Bitstream" or "Vera" are not in the names), and full
5 redistribution (so long as they are not *sold* by themselves). They
6 can be be bundled, redistributed and sold with any software.
8 The fonts are distributed under the following copyright:
13 Copyright (c) 2003 by Bitstream, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Bitstream
14 Vera is a trademark of Bitstream, Inc.
16 Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining
17 a copy of the fonts accompanying this license ("Fonts") and associated
18 documentation files (the "Font Software"), to reproduce and distribute
19 the Font Software, including without limitation the rights to use,
20 copy, merge, publish, distribute, and/or sell copies of the Font
21 Software, and to permit persons to whom the Font Software is furnished
22 to do so, subject to the following conditions:
24 The above copyright and trademark notices and this permission notice
25 shall be included in all copies of one or more of the Font Software
28 The Font Software may be modified, altered, or added to, and in
29 particular the designs of glyphs or characters in the Fonts may be
30 modified and additional glyphs or characters may be added to the
31 Fonts, only if the fonts are renamed to names not containing either
32 the words "Bitstream" or the word "Vera".
34 This License becomes null and void to the extent applicable to Fonts
35 or Font Software that has been modified and is distributed under the
36 "Bitstream Vera" names.
38 The Font Software may be sold as part of a larger software package but
39 no copy of one or more of the Font Software typefaces may be sold by
42 THE FONT SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND,
43 EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY WARRANTIES OF
44 MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT
45 OF COPYRIGHT, PATENT, TRADEMARK, OR OTHER RIGHT. IN NO EVENT SHALL
46 BITSTREAM OR THE GNOME FOUNDATION BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR
47 OTHER LIABILITY, INCLUDING ANY GENERAL, SPECIAL, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL,
48 OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR
49 OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF THE USE OR INABILITY TO USE THE FONT
50 SOFTWARE OR FROM OTHER DEALINGS IN THE FONT SOFTWARE.
52 Except as contained in this notice, the names of Gnome, the Gnome
53 Foundation, and Bitstream Inc., shall not be used in advertising or
54 otherwise to promote the sale, use or other dealings in this Font
55 Software without prior written authorization from the Gnome Foundation
56 or Bitstream Inc., respectively. For further information, contact:
57 fonts at gnome dot org.
62 1. I don't understand the resale restriction... What gives?
64 Bitstream is giving away these fonts, but wishes to ensure its
65 competitors can't just drop the fonts as is into a font sale system
66 and sell them as is. It seems fair that if Bitstream can't make money
67 from the Bitstream Vera fonts, their competitors should not be able to
68 do so either. You can sell the fonts as part of any software package,
71 2. I want to package these fonts separately for distribution and
72 sale as part of a larger software package or system. Can I do so?
74 Yes. A RPM or Debian package is a "larger software package" to begin
75 with, and you aren't selling them independently by themselves.
78 3. Are derivative works allowed?
81 4. Can I change or add to the font(s)?
82 Yes, but you must change the name(s) of the font(s).
84 5. Under what terms are derivative works allowed?
86 You must change the name(s) of the fonts. This is to ensure the
87 quality of the fonts, both to protect Bitstream and Gnome. We want to
88 ensure that if an application has opened a font specifically of these
89 names, it gets what it expects (though of course, using fontconfig,
90 substitutions could still could have occurred during font
91 opening). You must include the Bitstream copyright. Additional
92 copyrights can be added, as per copyright law. Happy Font Hacking!
94 6. If I have improvements for Bitstream Vera, is it possible they might get
95 adopted in future versions?
97 Yes. The contract between the Gnome Foundation and Bitstream has
98 provisions for working with Bitstream to ensure quality additions to
99 the Bitstream Vera font family. Please contact us if you have such
100 additions. Note, that in general, we will want such additions for the
101 entire family, not just a single font, and that you'll have to keep
102 both Gnome and Jim Lyles, Vera's designer, happy! To make sense to add
103 glyphs to the font, they must be stylistically in keeping with Vera's
104 design. Vera cannot become a "ransom note" font. Jim Lyles will be
105 providing a document describing the design elements used in Vera, as a
106 guide and aid for people interested in contributing to Vera.
108 7. I want to sell a software package that uses these fonts: Can I do so?
110 Sure. Bundle the fonts with your software and sell your software
111 with the fonts. That is the intent of the copyright.
113 8. If applications have built the names "Bitstream Vera" into them,
114 can I override this somehow to use fonts of my choosing?
116 This depends on exact details of the software. Most open source
117 systems and software (e.g., Gnome, KDE, etc.) are now converting to
118 use fontconfig (see www.fontconfig.org) to handle font configuration,
119 selection and substitution; it has provisions for overriding font
120 names and subsituting alternatives. An example is provided by the
121 supplied local.conf file, which chooses the family Bitstream Vera for
122 "sans", "serif" and "monospace". Other software (e.g., the XFree86
123 core server) has other mechanisms for font substitution.