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Clone of Optill 3A. A new version of my font based on optical illusion. For the best result use it together with 3A version. Limited set.
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In the meantime I will use this place for other purposes, such as an ad hoc forum of general interest.
Dear Thalamic,
Regarding your last comment at RM Cheese Fontdue: You were not wrong, and I'm afraid, I was not right. At present, I am not certain of anything. As I learn more and more about copyright, it looks murkier than ever. But I believe, that we should study what the law says, since it applies to us, and ignorance is not an excuse. It never was.
Last time I wrote a comment citing TypeRight.org in defense of fonts created in Europe and the Commonwealth countries. (I think, Pakistan is also implicated, and you should check the local legal background.) It was a reference to the Berne Convention (1886), the first international framework to protect intellectual property, outside their country of origin. The BC had been modified several times subsequently, the last time in Paris, in 1971. The United States ratified it in 1989, more than 100 years later (!) following many nations including the Bahamas (1973), Benin (1961), Burkina Faso (1963), Côte d'Ivoire (1962), Togo (1975), Trinidad and Tobago (1988), Rwanda (1984), and Zimbabwe (1980), just to name a few.
"The Berne Convention requires member nations to offer the same protection to authors from other member countries that it provides to its own nationals. It also sets out a common framework of protection, and specifies minimum protection levels that are required."
(http://www.copyrightaid.co.uk/copyright_information/berne)
If that's the case we are not any further. The USA at present does not provide copyright protection to fonts or typeface designs, therefore it does not protect such artworks from other member countries. Yes, there is minimum protection level, but again, it is
subjected to conditions and exceptions. I wonder, what prevented US citizens to plunder European foundries, and sell their precious works as their own. Because the law clearly did not.
Thus, there is a contradiction between this and what TypeRight.org says. (The United States' obligations under the
Berne Convention, now that she is a signatory, is to respect the copyright on fonts, if such copyright exists in the countries they were designed in. Fonts designed outside the United States become subject to protection as artistic works.)
At this point I have to pause, and seek legal advice.
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PART TWO
There is a workaround, I would propose until this issue is resolved. Graphic art, such as painting, illustration, lithography, etc., including digital graphics/illustrations, photography, are fully protected by US. copyright, just like literary works, digital music or motion pictures. That protection is very clear, and strict. No one can take the whole or any part of such artwork and alter, sample, mix, reproduce, display, transfer, etc. by any means without permission and/or licensing. I suggest to make a demo picture (or pictures) of every font showing the whole character set in detail in an aesthetically pleasing way, perhaps, and print it out and keep it in the drawer. In that case the protection would apply to the picture/image, and not to the font itself, but copying, altering and using the font (any text printed with) would infringe the copyright of the picture.
See more information on copyright infringement in Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright_infringement
Excerpts
"U.S. law requires a copyright holder to establish ownership of a valid copyright and the copying of constituent elements of the work that are original."
To establish ownership:
First, the work should be original. Second, it should be fixed in a tangible medium. "Copyright protects the fixed expression of ideas, but not the ideas themselves."
To establish actual copying:
By direct evidence, when the defendant admits copying (in many cases it could be a short note giving credit to the original work), or witnesses testify who observed the copying. By circumstantial evidence, demonstrating a "striking similarity" between the
copyrighted work and the alleged copy. (There are more details here, I just cut the passage short.)
That's what I've learned. Probably the best way is to publish large images on Flickr with nearly complete character set, but with a few selected omissions. What do you say?
Best regards, Frodo7
PS: I planned to write you privately, but this letter grew far too long
to be a message. Others might be interested too.
First of all, thank you for the thoughtful response that obviously took a lot of research. You have the patience of a saint.
Secondly, things must be stable where you are from, but where I am, we are still battling basic human needs. Currently there is a sugar crisis--can't find it in stores--over some pricing issue. Copyright is a very small, virtually negligible issue. I may have some rights as the creator of some type design, I would be laughed at if I asserted it. However, whether good or bad, every shared fontstruction is the best I could do at the time of sharing, therefore I do take pride in my work. That means that I, and probably others, do want to protect my (their) creations. I have seen variants of my designs on the internet and granted that my reach is limited, I know of not one single other person in this country who is also interested in type design. So whoever is copying or modifying my designs is likely to be from some other country. Which would mean some international copyright law would apply.
I've been trying to catalog my fontstructions. It is taking a surprisingly long time to do so. Generating full character set samples will probably take even longer. If I was really concerned, the only feasible solution might be to just unshare all fontstructions. But if it can be done, publishing far and wide is probably the best solution to assert copyright.
It is amazing how quickly things become complex. Thanks for keeping an eye out on this important issue.
Respect,
thalamic
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