kurt@tc.fluke.COM (Kurt Guntheroth) (12/19/87)
Warning: I am not a lawyer, and if I was I would deny it. Someone asked "How do you prove that someone copied the design of a font, and not the binary?" Well, with software, you do the following: Convert the original software and the new software to a common file format. This is necessary if (for example) the amiga and macintosh (both tm.) used different file formats. At any rate, you would end up with bit maps of the fonts in the same order (row or column). Then you use a sophisticated comparison program to measure their similarity. These are similar to the programs used to compare strands of DNA, and give a percentage measure. Then you take the result to court, arguing that the binaries would not be so similar unless they had simply been reformatted. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. It depends on the judge/jury, phase of the moon, and other arcane legal factors.
richard@gryphon.CTS.COM (Richard Sexton) (12/20/87)
In article <2515@fluke.COM> kurt@tc.fluke.COM (Kurt Guntheroth) writes: >Warning: I am not a lawyer, and if I was I would deny it. > >Someone asked "How do you prove that someone copied the design of a font, >and not the binary?" > >Well, with software, you do the following: Convert the original software >and the new software to a common file format. This is necessary if (for >example) the amiga and macintosh (both tm.) used different file formats. >At any rate, you would end up with bit maps of the fonts in the same order >(row or column). Then you use a sophisticated comparison program to measure >their similarity. These are similar to the programs used to compare strands >of DNA, and give a percentage measure. Then you take the result to court, >arguing that the binaries would not be so similar unless they had simply >been reformatted. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. It depends on >the judge/jury, phase of the moon, and other arcane legal factors. Nope. You blow up a mac font (somehow) so that each bit is readily recognizable. You enter it into the amiga with a font-editor (or reasonable facsimile thereof, like FED). Now. Take the resultant file. A legal copy. I have a font: 'Chicago' (detinitly not (tm)). I defy anybody to prove I converted it from the "rather similar" looking mac font Chicago, rather than used the above scheme. I suppose there are lots of things I could do to prove I edited the font, rather than copied/converted it, such as videotape myself editing it, or take screen shots of the half edited fonts. But. The onus is not on me to prove I entered/edited the font, the onus would be on the other party to prove I copied their binary. In the immortal words of Hunter S. Thompson: "chew on that gibberish for a while, you heartless scum" :-) Seasoned Greetings. -- "Well they say, that Santa Fe, is more, than 90 miles away" {ihnp4!crash, hplabs!hp-sdd!crash}!gryphon!richard || richard@gryphon.CTS.COM
Patrick_Amigan_Gross@cup.portal.com (12/21/87)
Concering copyrights of fonts...
1. The name of a font can by copyrighted by a company...
2. The font itself can only be copyrighted for 15 years. At the end of that tim
the font itself can be given a different name of either recopyrighted or
even used in the Pd sector.
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###richard@gryphon.CTS.COM (Richard Sexton) (12/22/87)
In article <2082@cup.portal.com> Patrick_Amigan_Gross@cup.portal.com writes: >Concering copyrights of fonts... Didn't the Bigelow article answer all these questions ? >1. The name of a font can by copyrighted by a company... The name of a font can be a registered trademark. You don't copyright a name. >2. The font itself can only be copyrighted for 15 years. At the end of that tim > the font itself can be given a different name of either recopyrighted or > even used in the Pd sector. The binary can be copyrighted. The font design cannot be. -- "Well, they say that Santa Fe is less than 90 miles away" richard@gryphon.CTS.COM || {ihnp4!crash, hplabs!hp-sdd!crash}!gryphon!richard
cmcmanis%pepper@Sun.COM (Chuck McManis) (12/24/87)
In article <2515@fluke.COM> kurt@tc.fluke.COM (Kurt Guntheroth) writes: >Warning: I am not a lawyer, and if I was I would deny it. > >Someone asked "How do you prove that someone copied the design of a font, >and not the binary?" As anyone who has worked with fonts knows, the US Copyright law has some mongo loopholes when it comes to copyrighting fonts. Basically, all you can do is Copyright/Trademark the name and not the images. This issue is being addressed in the latest proposal to amend the copyright laws, write your congresscritter for the details (and show them you care.) --Chuck McManis uucp: {anywhere}!sun!cmcmanis BIX: cmcmanis ARPAnet: cmcmanis@sun.com These opinions are my own and no one elses, but you knew that didn't you.