3 ms·

It would do a huge service to the web if you can get the blessing of foundries for a method that can be used by anyone for displaying licensed fonts using @font

It would do a huge service to the web if you can get the blessing of foundries for a method that can be used by anyone for displaying licensed fonts using @font-face. Even creating derivatives of fonts is often restricted, eg, the Adobe Font Folio EULA considers derivatives under the same license as full fonts and the Linotype EULA states "It must be ensured that the Font Software cannot be fully or partially extracted from said documents" (emphasis mine). So, presumably, it would be potentially problematic even if you are extracting individual characters and generating new fonts. As I understand it, since fonts can't be copyrighted it's purely a software licensing & "piracy" issue. If you've figured out a way we can all get around that it would be a big deal. Maybe you are in a unique situation because you aren't agreeing to an EULA and, instead, simply extracting characters from fonts embedded in documents uploaded by your users. Hopefully you'll share the details of how your attorneys have advised you about what a website's liability is in this area using different techniques Honestly, on one hand I'm hesitant to comment about it and give a voice or any encouragement to the foundries, but on the other hand it would be pretty shitty if scribd just skirts these issues and plays fast and loose with the situation while the rest of the web is still stuck using the same old font stacks because they can't afford to risk the legal fees.

ars 16y ago
You answered your own question. Fonts can't be copyrighted. They didn't agree to any EULA. All they need to do is convert the font to some other format, and they are legal. And BTW, this line is ridiculous: "It must be ensured that the Font Software cannot be fully or partially extracted from said documents". It's possible to embed a subset of the characters, and that's what most require. But to prohibit even a subset? That means you can not use the fonts for any electronic documents whatsoever unless you convert them to bitmaps, which means they are almost useless for PDFs. I personally would never buy a font with such a restriction unless all I made was print. BTW, if you want to be legal, just download (pirate) the font file, and convert it to some other format. You never agreed to a EULA, and fonts can't be copyrighted (only the original file can be). In theory they could complain about the original pirate act, but they would have zero evidence, and any subsequent usage is legal.
- gjm11 16y ago
  Mechanical conversion from one format to another doesn't defeat copyright protection. If you write a book in English and I translate it into French (a change much more fundamental and much more creative than you're proposing), that doesn't entitle me to publish it without your permission. The shapes of the glyphs are not protectable. The font file is considered to be a computer program, and is protectable as such. Converting it to a different format doesn't get around copyright any more than compiling a C program does.
- deleted 16y ago
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- danieldon 16y ago
  As gjm11 noted, the font software is copyrighted (as I understand it), the actual glyph design is what can't be copyrighted. If you are still distributing a portion of the copyrighted work (the font software), that would presumably be a copyright violation. I don't know the actual extent to which copyright protection covers font software or derivatives. There is at least some related case law, but I've only skimmed it and am not an attorney. That means you can not use the fonts for any electronic documents whatsoever unless you convert them to bitmaps, which means they are almost useless for PDFs. Font licenses always specifically address PDF embedding.

ars 16y ago

You answered your own question. Fonts can't be copyrighted. They didn't agree to any EULA. All they need to do is convert the font to some other format, and they are legal. And BTW, this line is ridiculous: "It must be ensured that the Font Software cannot be fully or partially extracted from said documents". It's possible to embed a subset of the characters, and that's what most require. But to prohibit even a subset? That means you can not use the fonts for any electronic documents whatsoever unless you convert them to bitmaps, which means they are almost useless for PDFs. I personally would never buy a font with such a restriction unless all I made was print. BTW, if you want to be legal, just download (pirate) the font file, and convert it to some other format. You never agreed to a EULA, and fonts can't be copyrighted (only the original file can be). In theory they could complain about the original pirate act, but they would have zero evidence, and any subsequent usage is legal.

gjm11 16y ago
Mechanical conversion from one format to another doesn't defeat copyright protection. If you write a book in English and I translate it into French (a change much more fundamental and much more creative than you're proposing), that doesn't entitle me to publish it without your permission. The shapes of the glyphs are not protectable. The font file is considered to be a computer program, and is protectable as such. Converting it to a different format doesn't get around copyright any more than compiling a C program does.
deleted 16y ago
[deleted]
danieldon 16y ago
As gjm11 noted, the font software is copyrighted (as I understand it), the actual glyph design is what can't be copyrighted. If you are still distributing a portion of the copyrighted work (the font software), that would presumably be a copyright violation. I don't know the actual extent to which copyright protection covers font software or derivatives. There is at least some related case law, but I've only skimmed it and am not an attorney. That means you can not use the fonts for any electronic documents whatsoever unless you convert them to bitmaps, which means they are almost useless for PDFs. Font licenses always specifically address PDF embedding.