Hi everyone,
I’m considering releasing my first font under the OFL license. Open source and licensing in general is new to me.
I’ve read through the FAQ, and didn’t see anything about this. I understand this might be a no brainer, I just wanted to make sure I wasn’t required to provide source files if I go this route.
Thanks,
Abe
Hi Abezs,
The OFL FAQ has a entry on this:
Question: 3.6 Do I have to make any derivative fonts (including extended source files, build scripts, documentation, etc.) publicly available?
Answer: No, but please consider sharing your improvements with others. You may find that you receive in return more than what you gave.
So no it’s not a legal requirement, so it’s really your decision.
Rather than making it a strict requirements in the license because the definition of what constitutes a modifiable font source can vary quite a lot and it could have become a blocker, we tend to view publishing extended sources (more than just the generated fonts) as a recommended best practice: SIL does that with the fonts it develops for example. And you can find plenty of OFL-licensed fonts with extensive sources (and the full buildpath) on public git repositories from other foundries and designers. Various people find that it makes sense if you’re going to develop an open font to provide the full sources with the related build scripts and documentation. But again it’s up to you.
I hope that’s clearer.
Hi n7s,
Thank you for that, I didn’t think to apply that section to the original font as well. And I do see the point of including the source files, especially if you want collaboration. Thank you for the help and clarification.
Abe
@n7s I also have noticed the same exact question asked earlier down a few posts. Sorry about that, and thanks again for taking the time to respond.
Abe