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Subject: |
[OpenType] Announcement: new font technology association to be formed |
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Date: |
Thu, 27 Feb 2003 07:52:15 -0800 |
On Thursday, 20 February 2003, twenty-three individuals representing al=
l =
levels of the type business, from individual designers and small foundr=
ies =
to major font publishers and software developers, gathered in Heidelber=
g in =
response to an open invitation from the ATypI Technology Committee. The=
=
main agenda item was to examine options and define the best possible mo=
del =
for co=F6peration on technical issues between font developers, font too=
l =
developers and system/application developers. Due to potential antitrus=
t =
issues stemming from the ATypI statutes and membership structure, Adobe=
=
Systems last year raised concerns about the appropriateness of that =
association being involved in standards development, and announced that=
=
they would not be able to participate in such development within the =
framework of ATypI. Although, to date, Adobe is the only company to hav=
e =
voiced such concerns, it is clear that active co=F6peration within the =
font =
and software industries requires the free and unfettered participation =
of =
all interested parties. In addition to this legal issue, concerns were =
raised at the Heidelberg meeting about the lack of focus and clear =
direction within ATypI. Given that technical issues are of overriding =
importance to those individuals and companies whose principal business =
is =
the making and selling of fonts, and that we are in a period of major =
change in font formats and tools, it is in the interests of the type =
business to create an organisation to address these issues in a focused=
and =
effective way. At the conclusion of the Heidelberg meeting, the attende=
es =
unanimously voiced assent to the creation of a new international =
association. A small steering committee has been formed to shepherd the=
new =
association into existence. The current members of this steering commit=
tee =
are Clive Bruton, Ted Harrison, John Hudson (chair), Laurence Penney an=
d =
Thomas Phinney. Other volunteers may be invited as tasks multiply.
International Font Technology Association (IFTA)
Preliminary report and structural proposals (under consideration of =
steering committee):
In order to maintain the focus of the new association, and also to ensu=
re =
that its activities do not overlap with the traditional legal, business=
, =
educational and design concerns of ATypI and other organisations, the =
Heidelberg meeting identified three r=F4les for IFTA:
1. To develop and publish standards, industry recommendations, and =
developer resources.
2. To facilitate co=F6peration and information exchange between font, t=
ool =
and software developers.
3. To provide a point of contact between the type business and related =
standards organisations, e.g. Unicode, World Wide Web consortium.
Membership in the new association will be open to any individual or com=
pany =
whose principal business is the development of fonts, tools for making =
fonts, or other software that relates directly to or has a central reli=
ance =
on fonts. An appropriate, multi-tiered membership structure is being =
considered by the steering committee, and will include both full and =
associate membership at corporate and individual levels, as well as =
provision for invited expert/consultant membership. An effort is being =
made =
to define a level of membership between individuals and corporations th=
at =
reflects the small size of many digital font foundries.
The steering committee has four goals:
1. To draw up statutes and an intellectual property policy.
2. To establish the association as a legal, non-profit entity in an =
appropriate jurisdiction.
3. To put in place an appropriate web presence and e-mail discussion fo=
ra =
for members and developers at large.
4. To open the door for membership at the earliest opportunity.
Once the membership reaches a certain level (to be determined and annou=
nced =
when the first members are admitted), the steering committee will step =
down =
and a board will be elected. The board will be a small body (not more t=
han =
seven people) with a facilitating r=F4le, and will be popularly elected=
(one =
vote per full and associate member). The board will have the power, at =
the =
request of members, to form working groups and committees to pursue =
specifically defined goals and to develop and publish standards, indust=
ry =
recommendations and resources for font developers.
Full and associate members may participate in working groups and =
committees, as may invited experts/consultants. Proposals, working pape=
rs =
and expert feedback will be welcome from all levels of membership and a=
lso =
from developers at large. All working groups and committees will seek =
consensus, but in the event that a vote is required only full members m=
ay =
vote; votes will be distributed according to membership level.
A website, from which additional information and updates will be availa=
ble, =
will be online soon, and will be announced in this forum.
--
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