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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Feb 2016
    Posts
    3

    Default Creating My Own Font?

    Hi, I have a certain font that I really like, but it's a corporate-designed font and nobody can use it but the corporation.

    1.) Is there a font creation software package that will allow me to input JPG images of this corporate font, make subtle changes to it, and create my "own" font?
    2.) Is there anyone on this list who can do this for me, for not a lot of money? :-)
    3.) Is there copyright law I can read which describes the legality of modifying and re-using fonts?

    I've looked hard for a suitable replacement, but nothing comes close, especially with specific styles (numerals, small "s", small "l", small "g", etc...)

    Thanks,
    JL

  2. #2

    Default Re: Creating My Own Font?

    It is illegal to do if it is a copyrighted font, and it likely is. It doesn't matter how you go about it.

    Mike

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Feb 2016
    Posts
    3

    Default Re: Creating My Own Font?

    Quote Originally Posted by mwenz View Post
    It is illegal to do if it is a copyrighted font, and it likely is. It doesn't matter how you go about it.

    Mike
    Thanks.

    How can all of those free "look alike" fonts be distributed if they are so close to a copyrighted font? How can they look so close to the original without using the original as a reference?

    In other words, how do you create a "look alike" font without "starting with the original?"

    Is there U.S. Copyright law I could read on this? There has to be a way to do this legally, no?

  4. #4

    Default Re: Creating My Own Font?

    A copyright is a copyright. Read your own sources for a copyright.

    Most so-called free fonts are rip-offs. For instance, Bitstream was sued and lost for what they did in the 1990s with other foundries fonts. So it was with several other sources.

    Fonts are software. In the US, copyrights on fonts are less stringent for fonts designed and produced in the US than all other parts of the world. But the actual font itself and any print from those designs carry a copyright.

    Do what you want. Just don't ask for some kind of blessing to do so.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jul 2007
    Location
    Brockville, Ontario, Canada.
    Posts
    4,619

    Default Re: Creating My Own Font?

    Have a look at this page at the Graphic Arts Guild ... https://graphicartistsguild.org/tool...ted-legalities

    Particularly the paragraph that begins "There is an absolute rule that copyright does NOT cover type fonts" ... Although that may or may not be absolute garbage. However, Monotype's ARIAL and Eduard Hoffman's HELVETICA are so similar as to be almost indistinguishable.

    Or this WIKIPEDIA entry
    "The idea that typefaces cannot be copyrighted in the United States is a well-settled law with a long history.[citation needed] Based upon the decision in Eltra Corp v. Ringer, and the clear and explicit actions of Congress, the status quo regarding typeface copyright has remained unchanged.[citation needed] Under U.S. law, typefaces and their letter forms or glyphs are considered to be utilitarian objects whose utility outweighs any merit that may exist in protecting their creative elements. Typefaces are exempt from copyright protection in the United States (Code of Federal Regulations, Ch 37, Sec. 202.1(e); Eltra Corp. vs. Ringer)."

    How legal either of these items are, is up to you to determine.
    Keith
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    There are 10 types of people in this world .... Those who understand binary, and those who don't.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Feb 2016
    Posts
    3

    Default Re: Creating My Own Font?

    Thanks SS-KALM. I think I'm getting a pretty good idea of what's safe, and what's "infringement" WRT fonts. Someone gave me a list of 1000's of open source fonts, some of which are reasonably close to our design goals, which can then be squished, tweaked, stretched, and chopped into the precise style we want. I think the essay is correct -- you can't copyright a font style, but you can trademark it. And in U.S. trademark law, it doesn't necessarily have to be formally registered to be "trademarked" i.e., common law trademark. Have learned a lot today :-)

    So now we're looking through a ton of open source font styles, finding those "close" to our design goals.

 

 

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