License field

From Fontlab Wiki

The license field is part of TrueType and OpenType fonts, intended to help users see what they are allowed to do with their fonts. Technically, it exists in the 'name' table of the font.

It is in fact two fields. Here is the definition from Microsoft OpenType specification: 'name' table (http://www.microsoft.com/typography/otspec/name.htm)

License Description (NameID 13) 

Description of how the font may be legally used, or different example scenarios for licensed use. This field should be written in plain language, not legalese.

License Info URL (NameID 14) 

URL where additional licensing information can be found.

Since FontLab version 4(?), type designers have been able to edit these fields easily.

Relation of the License Description field to the EULA

Although the specification declares that the License Description should be written in plain language, it is not clear exactly how it relates to the EULA.

There is so far little sign of foundries placing useful information in these fields. One reason is that some foundries are reluctant to rephrase the "legalese" of their EULA into "plain language". Another reason may be that foundries wish to be able to change their EULAs at any time, without rebuilding all their fonts.

Location for the EULA abstract

The license description field is an obvious candidate for the place to store the EULA abstract in the font file.