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jjramsey
n00b
Joined: 03 Aug 2002
Posts: 21
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 Posted: Sat Aug 03, 2002 11:23 pm Post subject: Enabling Freetype bytecode interpreter stomping on patent? |
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From http://freetype.sourceforge.net/patents.html:
| Quote: | Is FreeType 2 affected by the patents ?
The answer is no for any recent build of FreeType 2, since it comes with a "auto-hinting" module that was specifically designed to completely ignore the TrueType bytecodes.
However, the source code for the bytecode interpreter is still available and can be toggled on at compile time, for those that want to use it anyway (because they purchased a license from Apple, or because they're in a country where the patents do not apply, etc..) |
What I put in italics is key. What the Freetype developers seem to be saying is that enabling the bytecode interpreter does infringe on Apple's patents, if one is somewhere where the patents do apply and is not paying for an Apple license.
This seems pretty clear-cut to me. The Gentoo Linux developers, at least the ones who are bound by U. S. laws, are in a precarious legal position if they continue to leave the bytecode interpreter enabled. |
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delta407
Bodhisattva
Joined: 23 Apr 2002
Posts: 2876
Location: Chicago, IL
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| Posted: Sun Aug 04, 2002 4:42 am Post subject: |
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Moving to Desktop Environments, as it has to do with X.
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I don't believe in witty sigs. |
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Techie2000
Guru
Joined: 16 May 2002
Posts: 344
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| Posted: Sun Aug 04, 2002 5:14 am Post subject: |
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Looks like they'll be moving this operation to Switzerland? Swiss bank account? I also hear the watches and chocolates are good too...
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"And I'm right. I'm always right, but in this case I'm just a bit more right than I usually am." - Linus Torvalds |
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Mnemia
Guru
Joined: 17 May 2002
Posts: 476
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| Posted: Sun Aug 04, 2002 7:43 am Post subject: |
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| I think we all need to stop allowing the lawyers to run our lives and start making more sane choices. In a small way that's what's going on here, and I think this kind of thing is a real indication of just how irrelevant patent law is to open source software. |
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asimon
l33t
Joined: 27 Jun 2002
Posts: 979
Location: Germany, Old Europe
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| Posted: Sun Aug 04, 2002 9:17 am Post subject: Re: Enabling Freetype bytecode interpreter stomping on paten |
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| jjramsey wrote: |
This seems pretty clear-cut to me. The Gentoo Linux developers, at least the ones who are bound by U. S. laws, are in a precarious legal position if they continue to leave the bytecode interpreter enabled. |
No, I am no lawyer but AFAIK Gentoo does not distribute any patented bytecode interpreter at all. All that they do is distributing instructions how you can compile this interpreter. If there are any patent infringements they are on YOUR side. Gentoo does infringe patents not more than the Freetype developers who distribute the source code.
Cheers,
Andreas |
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jjramsey
n00b
Joined: 03 Aug 2002
Posts: 21
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| Posted: Sun Aug 04, 2002 12:49 pm Post subject: Re: Enabling Freetype bytecode interpreter stomping on paten |
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| asimon wrote: |
No, I am no lawyer but AFAIK Gentoo does not distribute any patented bytecode interpreter at all. All that they do is distributing instructions how you can compile this interpreter. |
Um, then how come the ebuild files for Freetype and XFree86 contain these lines?
From freetype-2.0.9.ebuild:
| Code: |
# Enable hinting for truetype fonts
cd ${S}/include/freetype/config
cp ftoption.h ftoption.h.orig
sed -e 's:#undef TT_CONFIG_OPTION_BYTECODE_INTERPRETER:#define TT_CONFIG
_OPTION_BYTECODE_INTERPRETER:' \
ftoption.h.orig > ftoption.h
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From xfree-4.2.0-r12.ebuild:
| Code: |
# Enable hinting for truetype fonts
cd ${S}/extras/freetype2/include/freetype/config
cp ftoption.h ftoption.h.orig
sed -e 's:#undef TT_CONFIG_OPTION_BYTECODE_INTERPRETER:#define TT_CONFIG
_OPTION_BYTECODE_INTERPRETER:' \
ftoption.h.orig > ftoption.h
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Those lines above turn the Freetype bytecode interpreter on, and if a Gentoo user emerges Freetype and XFree86, the bytecode interpreter will be built by default. If I hadn't been searching the Gentoo forums trying to find info on how to get Mozilla and X to handle TrueType fonts sanely, I would have never stumbled on those above bits of code. Any Gentoo user in the U.S. who emerges XFree86 ebuilds 4.2.0-r11 or 4.2.0-r12 becomes an unwitting infringer of the Apple's patent. While I highly doubt that Apple would come after individual Gentoo users, the developers of Gentoo collectively are a big enough target to see.
I'd suggest commenting out the offending lines in the ebuild files, with comments above those lines saying that uncommenting them will compile in the bytecode interpreter, do this at own risk, etc. That would put the Gentoo user in about the same position as anybody compiling the FreeType library. |
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mglauche
Retired Dev
Joined: 25 Apr 2002
Posts: 564
Location: Germany
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| Posted: Sun Aug 04, 2002 2:52 pm Post subject: |
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as asimov said, it will be build by default. now gentoo does not distribute packages at all, so .. theortical they are save. however, the unlucky individuals who live in countrys with software patetents break the law by compiling the hinter enabled freetype ... but the chance that apple will go after those individuals are not that big i hope ...
anyway. remeber to fight against software patents. If you live in europe, sing the petition agains software patents: http://petition.eurolinux.org/ |
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jjramsey
n00b
Joined: 03 Aug 2002
Posts: 21
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| Posted: Sun Aug 04, 2002 5:59 pm Post subject: Re: Enabling Freetype bytecode interpreter stomping on pate |
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| mglauche wrote: | | as asimov said, it will be build by default. now gentoo does not distribute packages at all |
That's not so true anymore: http://www.gentoo.org/index-packages.html
And freetype is one of the packages.
| Quote: |
anyway. remeber to fight against software patents. If you live in europe, sing the petition agains software patents: http://petition.eurolinux.org/ |
Unfortunately, I live in the U.S., the land of the free and the home of the lawyers.  |
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Desktop Environments
