On Monday 08 October 2007 17:43, Randall R Schulz wrote: > > Well, I am sure you read the disclaimer at > > > > http://opensuse-community.org/SubpixelHinting > > Why so wimpy? > > It says "... might infringe ..."
IANAL. But let me put it this way: If the upstream authors of freetype were so sure about themselves, would they disable it already in their sources? If they are not so sure, why would we? > Until and unless the legal question is raised and settled in some > plaintiff's favor, there's very little real risk to anybody. > The worst that could happen is a cease-and-desist request. ...plus a lawsuit for damages. Creative lawyers might be tempted to multiply some random per-user amount of damage with the overall user base worldwide. That kind of thing easily can add up to tens of millions (or more). And until all that is settled, a Damocles sword of some phantastizillions might be hanging over us. Even if the lawsuit comes out to naught - after several years, like usual. Now why would we want that? That workaround with a hint page how to re-enable that feature (on a web site we cannot be held responsible for) might not be an ideal solution, but at least it puts the company that pays us full-time SuSE/Novell developers not at that kind of risk. Just my 0.02€. Kind regards -- Stefan Hundhammer <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Penguin by conviction. YaST2 Development SUSE LINUX Products GmbH, GF: Markus Rex, HRB 16746 (AG Nürnberg) Nürnberg, Germany -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
