[pdf-devel] Use of Adobe's CMap files in GNU PDF

[jemarch]

Hi.

Given the recent discussion about the copyright issue with Adobe's
CMap files I would like to clarify the posture of the GNU Project
about it.

Our goal is to produce a PDF implementation which is free software.
We don't know whether the OSI will consider it open source, but
that's a side issue anyway.  The idea of free software is that the
user is free to change the source -- all of it.  To make part of the
program free would be to make part of the program ethical.  All of the
functional parts of this program must be free software.

So we cannot distribute Adobe's CMap files with the current
distribution terms. We are studying both legal and technical possible
solutions. I hope we will end in a suitable solution for us and for
the free PDF and Postscript implementations.

--
José E. Marchesi  <address@hidden>

GNU Project       http://www.gnu.org
GNU Spain         http://es.gnu.org