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> The royalty is being paid in the OS licence attached to the viewer's computer, basically. So who is paying for Linux? Or is Linux using open source alternati

> The royalty is being paid in the OS licence attached to the viewer's computer, basically. So who is paying for Linux? Or is Linux using open source alternatives to these fonts?

IshKebab 3y ago
Linux uses free fonts like Open Sans, Roboto, etc.
ars 3y ago
Microsoft is. They actually made them available for anyone to use everywhere because they wanted them to be standard on the web. See: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Core_fonts_for_the_Web https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Core_fonts_for_the_Web
- adrian_b 3y ago
  Most of those fonts donated by Microsoft are only among the fonts owned by Microsoft, e.g. Georgia and Verdana. They have included only a few fonts licensed from Monotype, e.g. Arial. Besides the fonts donated by Microsoft, there are many other free fonts that have been donated by big companies like Google, Adobe, Intel, URW, Bitstream, JetBrains and others. There are also many free fonts donated by individual creators.
  - deleted 3y ago
    [deleted]
  - bemusedthrow75 3y ago
    The fonts in that package were not donated, but licensed -- it had an EULA. But the versions of the font files in that package are rusting at this point; there's no compelling reason to use them anywhere, IMO.
    - adrian_b 3y ago
      You are right that perhaps the word "donate" is not the most appropriate, because for typefaces, like for programs, the author does not normally transfer ownership but only grants certain rights for using the typeface. By "donate" I have meant that the typeface owners have forsaken the revenues corresponding to the licensing fees that they have stopped demanding, allowing the free use of those typefaces. It can be said that they have donated the value of the work that was needed to create those typefaces. You are also right that now this Corefonts package is mostly of historical interest, because the included fonts are very old. Unlike these, the corresponding Windows fonts have been maintained, by fixing bugs and adding new Unicode characters.
adrian_b 3y ago
Some Linux users buy themselves whatever fonts they like, e.g. from one of the many on-line stores. Most Linux users use only free fonts, some of which are metrically equivalent with the more popular Windows fonts, so they will substitute those in documents and Web pages. Some Linux users, like also some of the users of other operating systems, may use unlicensed copies of some popular fonts.

> The royalty is being paid in the OS licence attached to the viewer's computer, basically. So who is paying for Linux? Or is Linux using open source alternatives to these fonts?

IshKebab 3y ago

Linux uses free fonts like Open Sans, Roboto, etc.

ars 3y ago

Microsoft is. They actually made them available for anyone to use everywhere because they wanted them to be standard on the web. See: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Core_fonts_for_the_Web https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Core_fonts_for_the_Web

adrian_b 3y ago
Most of those fonts donated by Microsoft are only among the fonts owned by Microsoft, e.g. Georgia and Verdana. They have included only a few fonts licensed from Monotype, e.g. Arial. Besides the fonts donated by Microsoft, there are many other free fonts that have been donated by big companies like Google, Adobe, Intel, URW, Bitstream, JetBrains and others. There are also many free fonts donated by individual creators.
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
- bemusedthrow75 3y ago
  The fonts in that package were not donated, but licensed -- it had an EULA. But the versions of the font files in that package are rusting at this point; there's no compelling reason to use them anywhere, IMO.
  - adrian_b 3y ago
    You are right that perhaps the word "donate" is not the most appropriate, because for typefaces, like for programs, the author does not normally transfer ownership but only grants certain rights for using the typeface. By "donate" I have meant that the typeface owners have forsaken the revenues corresponding to the licensing fees that they have stopped demanding, allowing the free use of those typefaces. It can be said that they have donated the value of the work that was needed to create those typefaces. You are also right that now this Corefonts package is mostly of historical interest, because the included fonts are very old. Unlike these, the corresponding Windows fonts have been maintained, by fixing bugs and adding new Unicode characters.

adrian_b 3y ago

Some Linux users buy themselves whatever fonts they like, e.g. from one of the many on-line stores. Most Linux users use only free fonts, some of which are metrically equivalent with the more popular Windows fonts, so they will substitute those in documents and Web pages. Some Linux users, like also some of the users of other operating systems, may use unlicensed copies of some popular fonts.