Sunday, May 27, 2007

A license for SignWriting

The SignWriting script is the product of a process that is already under way for over 30 years. It is a process that has been getting more and more momentum.

The script has been available on line for everyone to use from the start. When people have questions, need support, it has always been provided. People are learning to write their sign language all over the world. The last time I spoke to Valerie Sutton, the creator of the SignWriting script, it had to be short because people from Switzerland wanted to talk to her :)

As the SignWriting movement is ancient in Internet time, it started before licenses and copyright were considered. People needed to be able to use it, so it was made available. In a reply to a previous post on the subject of SignWriting, David Gerard asked about the license and the copyright and asked if there is an organisation behind SignWriting.

Yes, there is an organisation, the "Center for Sutton Movement Writing Inc." which is a USA nonprofit, tax-exempt educational membership organization. The copyright I understand is with Valerie Sutton and, she is considering what license to use. I have been discussing this with Valerie and the license that we are considering is the SIL Open Font License.

The big question she asked me to ask David and my readers is: "If all SignWriting symbols were under the SIL Open Font License (OFL) would you feel free to use the symbols?"

Thanks,
GerardM

2 comments:

David Gerard said...

Cool :-) I don't know what the practical details of that license are. But that it is under a free license, rather than being owned with uncertainty as to how far ownership extends, is good. And if people feel free to use it without fear of someone claiming their words because of the script, that would be the concern.

Anonymous said...

I like this idea as a solution to a rather novel problem.

Of course there are no standards for how exactly to license a whole writing system (thankfully, Saint Cyril did not have this problem), but I think the formal placing of the SignWriting font under an open license would be a powerful way to demonstrate the status of SignWriting.

There is one slight possible issue. The SIL Open Font License does not appear to meet the letter of the freedomdefined.org definition, which is the official standard for Wikimedia projects. It's a really small difference though (you can't sell the font on an individual basis, you can sell it bundled with other software), so I think this should be quite acceptable.