Microsoft backs Web Open Font Format

Microsoft has joined Mozilla and Opera in sponsoring the submission of the WOFF File Format 1.0 to the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). WOFF is a file format for fonts which is designed to be a lightweight, compressed version of font information, suitable for using over the web. The submission presents the Web Open Font Format to the standards body and suggests that the consortium start a working group to produce a W3C Recommendation.

A WebFonts group was founded at the W3C in March, and this group now has the submitted specification to begin its technical work. Microsoft, Mozilla, Opera, TypeSupply and LettError have all signed up to the W3C royalty free licensing requirements for any patented material within the submission.

WOFF support is already included in Firefox 3.6. It was developed by Mozilla working with TypeSupply, LettError and others to create a font format which would be a universal and interoperable web format and allow font vendors to make more fonts available for web use. Microsoft have not, as yet, committed to including WOFF support in the next version of Internet Explorer, IE9, but recent moves from the company indicate it is looking to implement more standard based technologies in future browsers.

(djwm)