Hi All,
Is Arial copyrighted ? If I use Arial fonts to make .BMP files (one per
character), and display them on screen, is it ok ?
I guess that if I do it with a copyrighted font this is illegal, but which
fonts are ok for ANY use (commercial, GPL, etc) ?
Thanks In Advance
Amedeo
Amedeo Storni schrieb am 20 Mar 2000:
Hi All,
Is Arial copyrighted ? If I use Arial fonts to make .BMP files (one per
character), and display them on screen, is it ok ?
I guess that if I do it with a copyrighted font this is illegal, but which
fonts are ok for ANY use (commercial, GPL, etc) ?
Disclaimer: I am not a laywer.
The following should hold in the EU and the US.
As far as I know, any font is free once it’s converted to a bitmap.
Copyright only applies to the truetype font.
As far as I know, any font is free once it’s converted to a bitmap.
Copyright only applies to the truetype font.
The format makes no difference to copyright holders. Any digital media
(code, graphics, fonts, etc) can be copyrighted by their authors and
distributed in whatever format the author allows.
Converting a font from ttf to bmp takes it from being a font specification
to a specific instance of that font. It’s still that font, it could still
be considered artwork. The author of artwork still retains his/her
copyright no matter what media he/she chooses to create it in.
The fact that fonts are often illegally converted to bmp format does not
mean that the original authors no longer have a claim to the fonts.–
Brian
hayward at slothmud.org schrieb am 20 Mar 2000:
As far as I know, any font is free once it’s converted to a bitmap.
Copyright only applies to the truetype font.The format makes no difference to copyright holders. Any digital media
(code, graphics, fonts, etc) can be copyrighted by their authors and
distributed in whatever format the author allows.
Yes it does. For more information, see the comp.fonts FAQ,
e.g. http://www.uni-mb.si/local/fontfaq/cf_13.htm#SEC33
Thanks for that link, that is very interesting information.
It still does not address the issue of whether it is illegal to convert
the copyrighted font to bitmapped font and use it(or re-distribute it),
without a license from the font vendor saying they can do it.
In fact, converting a ttf to a bitmapped font, you are using their
copyrighted algorithm. So don’t just assume you can grab your favorite
font, convert it to bitmapped format, than redistribute it.
In fact, I read the next section from the same FAQ:
http://www.uni-mb.si/local/fontfaq/cf_14.htm#SEC34
(the Copyright section)
Where it seems to imply that converting a typeface to another format,
using the copyrighted mechanism, is illegal/plagiarism. This means that
the company has to provide the bitmapped font themselves for this
previously mentioned part of the FAQ to even apply.
–Brian
Here is a quote from the FAQ that implys what I’ve said above:
'Note that the designs themselves are still not protected in the U.S. A
plagiarist could print out large sized letters (say, one per page) on an
Apple LaserWriter, using a copyrighted PostScript digital font, and then
redigitize those letters by using a scanner or a font digitizing program
and thus produce a new digital font without having copied the program or
digital data, and thus without infringing the copyright on the font. The
quality of the imitation font would usually be awful, but it wouldn’t
violate copyright. Of course, the plagiarist would usually need to rename
the font to evade trademark infringement.'On Mon, 20 Mar 2000, Andreas Umbach wrote:
Yes it does. For more information, see the comp.fonts FAQ,
e.g. http://www.uni-mb.si/local/fontfaq/cf_13.htm#SEC33
- Andreas
There is a difference between the format copyright and the specific
copyright on a font, ie, the truetype format versus the “Arial” font.
One is a specification, the other a creative work. Use free fonts for
your conversion.
Stuart Anderson
This is getting seriously offtopic, but:
There is a difference between the format copyright and the specific
copyright on a font, ie, the truetype format versus the “Arial” font.
One is a specification, the other a creative work. Use free fonts for
your conversion.
I don’t think formats can be copyrighted. A document describing the format
may be copyrighted, but nothing would prevent me from writing my own
specification of the same format.
Can you cite examples of a “format copyright”?
Mattias Engdeg?rd wrote:
I don’t think formats can be copyrighted. A document describing the format
may be copyrighted, but nothing would prevent me from writing my own
specification of the same format.
AFAIK not the format but the algorithm is patented. Like with GIF - it
is the compression there.–
Daniel Vogel My opinions may have changed,
666 @ http://grafzahl.de but not the fact that I am right
I don’t think formats can be copyrighted. A document describing the format
may be copyrighted, but nothing would prevent me from writing my own
specification of the same format.AFAIK not the format but the algorithm is patented. Like with GIF - it
is the compression there.
Yup. For example, the ttf format is patented by apple. The lzw
compression algorithm itself (seperate from GIF, which just happens to use
that compresser) is patented as well.
But looking at fonts, don’t forget copyrights. As pointed out, the
instance of a font is copyrightable in ttf format, because ttf itself is
"code" determining how a font will appear.
This debate is probably beat to death already.–
Brian
This debate is probably beat to death already.
Yes, please take it to the font newsgroup. However, if there is a
definitive answer, I’d like to hear it. 
See ya!
-Sam Lantinga (slouken at devolution.com)
Lead Programmer, Loki Entertainment Software–
“Any sufficiently advanced bug is indistinguishable from a feature”
– Rich Kulawiec
Hi,
I wonder if there is a way to render an Adobe Type 1 fonts under SDL for
Linux?
-alvin
Try using t1lib.On Thu, Jul 20, 2000 at 01:55:05PM +0800, sk wrote:
Hi,
I wonder if there is a way to render an Adobe Type 1 fonts under SDL for
Linux?
–
“I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but I know
that World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones.” – Einstein
Hi Guys
Does anyone know if Chinese/Korean/Turkish and all the other
Unicode fonts have the space at 32 and the numbers at 48 etc??? so when i
use
TTF_RenderUNICODE_Blended and such to print space or zero to nine, it will
translate if i use a chinese font?
Trish
In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.
Hi Guys
Does anyone know if Chinese/Korean/Turkish and all the other
Unicode fonts have the space at 32 and the numbers at 48 etc??? so when i
use
TTF_RenderUNICODE_Blended and such to print space or zero to nine, it will
translate if i use a chinese font?
Yes, that is one of the points of UNICODE. But I would use
TTF_RenderUTF8_Blended instead since UTF8 has the same memory encoding as
ASCII for unicode points below 127.On Thu, 10 May 2007, Patricia Curtis wrote:
Hi Guys
Does anyone know if Chinese/Korean/Turkish and all the
other Unicode fonts have the space at 32 and the numbers at 48
etc??? so when i use
TTF_RenderUNICODE_Blended and such to print space or zero to nine,
it will translate if i use a chinese font?Trish
In a more general way, I suggest you crawl that site:
You will find plenty of information about unicode fonts.
Also, just for info, some fonts sometimes don’t have ASCII, but it’s
very, very rare. I met some Japanese font that did not have ASCII,
but it was for special purposes.
RegardsOn 10 May 2007, at 12:16 PM, Patricia Curtis wrote:
–
Kuon
"Don’t press that button."
http://goyman.com/