[OpenFontLibrary] CC Attribution Share Alike Licence & fonts

[ricardo lafuente]

Nicolas Spalinger wrote:
> I would say no: because of the major issue that Creative Commons
> licenses are designed and used for content and not software.
>
> CC strongly discourages using a CC combination for software:
> http://wiki.creativecommons.org/FAQ#Can_I_use_a_Creative_Commons_license_for_software.3F
>
> IMHO we don't want to add extra confusion to the choice of licenses.
>   

This is a point that the whole hype around Creative Commons made a lot 
less visible than necessary.

Their choice is probably due to some confusion regarding font licensing, 
like you say -- they seem to come from the design world, and after years 
of seeing commercial licenses, it's fitting that you run for the first 
airhole you'd see when you want to 'go open-source' and escape from the 
proprietary logic.

I'm pretty sure that they'd change their terms if someone would approach 
them and point the caveats like you just did. It looks like a good 
opportunity to get in touch with designers (who come from the other side 
of the fence, in a way), and a great way for OFLB and the OFL to gain 
visibility, maybe?

Also -- after Ellen Lupton's release and advocacy of the Free Font 
Manifesto* (http://www.designwritingresearch.org/free_fonts.html), the 
design world has become pretty aware of the whole issue of 
open-source/freedom. However, there's not a lot of legal awareness 
inside that ecosystem, which results in confusion such as the one you 
remarked here regarding CC licensing of fonts (which remarkably few 
designers see as software instead of content or artwork).

To me at least, it looks like everybody would win if someone from the 
OFLB would approach the guys from the 'League of Movable Type', and -- 
who knows -- other designers who are releasing their fonts as freeware.

* which, of course, can be very criticised for its apparent confusion 
between freeware and libre; however, it does clearly state that 'Like 
open source software, the freedom of the fonts shown on this page is 
made explicit through their licensing, which allows other people to not 
only use the fonts but to modify them'.