Since May 2010, all patents related to bytecode hinting
have expired worldwide. It it thus no longer necessary to
disable the bytecode interpreter, and starting with
FreeType version 2.4, it is enabled by default.
The colour filtering algorithm of Microsoft's ClearType
technology for subpixel rendering is covered by patents;
for this reasons the corresponding code in FreeType is
disabled by default. Note that subpixel rendering per se
is prior art; using a different colour filter thus easily
circumvents Microsoft's patent claims.
