As far as I know, freeware, shareware and public domain, all these terms are not defined strictly in legal terms. That is to say, what is more important than to categorize this font as public domain or free, is to see what kind of rights the font author reserves . Even if the author distribute freely his fonts, he STILL reserves the copyrights and prevent others from modifying it. Modifying rights is, in many countries, is preserved as a sub-rights of copyrights.
Check out the copyleft GPL - it may have some information concerning retaining rights, while still leaving a minimum of constraints on end-users. It has legal standing, as there is a EULA that goes along with the software, and confers several rights and obligations. That’s my suggestion for where to look.
Thank you both for your considered replies. I have looked at Copyleft GPL. What a formidable amount of reading to get to the basics. Reading is one thing, understanding is another. I’ll keep trying!
Thank you.
Creative Commons has several options for creating your own custom public domain EULA - there’s a selection process by which you figure out what you want to allow and what you don’t - and they have a pre-made license for every combination. Definitely check them out before you decide on anything.
I appreciate this discussion as I have long wrestled with the subject.
We all stand on the shoulders of those who have gone before, but wish to be acknowledged for our own contributions. What makes a creation ours? Consider something controversial.
Photographers claim the photos they make of others for pay still belong to them. Is this true?
If I take photos of people without their knowledge or permission, do the photos belong to me or to them? It IS THEIR IMAGE after all is said and done.
Now consider this: When the USSR came into existence, they claimed that the vast sums of money owed by the Czar were not their debts . . . and they were not!
Reality is whatever is accepted by the majority!
You referred to http://creativecommons.org/license/
Which was created in 2001. How well have they been accepted, and what will the future hold?
The United States government decided that if we write “Copyright” Name and Date on anything we create, it belongs to us period. Most world governments agreed. They used to require registration but that became too labor intensive and cumbersome to maintain.
It has been said [by “They” ‘:twisted:’] that if you make over seven changes to an original design you can claim it as your own. The Star Trek theme, for example, was expanded [without giving credit] from a riff in a Spike Jones [None But The Lonely Heart] recording.
Anarchy is not the answer, and with unknown thousands of Fonts out there, fairness can only exist in each of us. Not in some outside power.
Is there anything else I can write to confuse you more?
This hole (sic) business of font copyrighting and font authorship doesn’t seem very honorable. There is a strange precedent used in the Font Business where ownership apparently is based on who last publishes the font.
Is there such a thing as “prior art” on fonts? Does copyright info in a font prove anything? Does it prove “prior art”?
I have fonts which are exact duplicates down to the last overlapping point. The only difference appears to be the font name. When each says “I am ____ and I copyrighted ____ on this Date with ____ Version number”, what is the truth?
Could I copy the latest one under the assumption it had an invalid copyright notice? Could I copy the first one since it no longer had a current copyright notice? Either way I get a font I now control…
If there is NO Note saying who owns the copyright or who is the author does that mean it’s public domain – even though it may use the word “Copyright”. If I were to delete that information from the font do I now own it too?
Can I put my name in there with the year I was born and do I suddenly own Tahoma, Arial and Times New Roman!!! Yippee … you’ll pay now!
How much do I have to change a font until it’s mine? Is a point here, and a point there enough? How about 7 points? 24? Can I automatically induce a slant and then own it?
Please help me out, my retirement hangs in the balance!