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This *compilation* is (c) Copyright 1991,1992 Joseph (Yossi) Gil.
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Permission is granted to use and redistribute the files comprising
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this collection in any way (including conversion to another format),
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provided that my name and addresses and this notice is preserved.
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Simple (dare I say trivial?) bitmapped screen fonts such as the ones
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included in this collection cannot be copyrighted. In general, one can
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only copyright programs that generate fonts. This is why postscript
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fonts are copyrightable. For more details refer to discussions various
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"legal" newsgroups. In addition, I have included a relevant excerpt
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from the FAQ of comp.fonts at the bottom of this document.
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No one can claim any copyright on the fonts in this archive. They
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have been collected from numerous sources. Legally speaking, you are
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*free* to do with the individual fonts whatever you like. Individual
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fonts are in the public domain. I do ask that you will kindly refrain
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from causing confusion by distributing modified versions of the fonts
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contained in this collection.
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Please send any all your EGA/VGA text mode fonts contributions to me
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rather than distributing a modified version of this collection. I
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will add your fonts to the next edition of this collection and happily
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acknowledge your help. Your cooperation will enable us all to benefit
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from your contribution. See the file LOOKING4.TXT for more details.
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I am trying to keep track of the origins of these fonts. See the file
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FONTORIG.TXT. Unfortunately, I only started to record this information
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on version 1.2. Records of origin of earlier fonts are missing.
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If you know the origin of any of the fonts here, please drop me a note.
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Staring on version 1.6 the collection also includes some of the
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miscellaneous utilities which I use for preparing it. Among these
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you will find programs for loading, viewing, trimming and otherwise
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manipulating the fonts. These utilities are also distributed as a
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separate archive called fntutlXX.ZIP where XX is the version number.
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All the utilities require no shareware payment. Restrictions on
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distribution and usage are only to the extent necessary to protect
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the free distribution.
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I see this is as my pleasant duty to pay tribute to the following
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individuals who communicated and contributed to this archive:
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Dov Grobgeld <cfgrob@weizmann.weizmann.ac.il>
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Angelos Karageorgiou <karage@insci.com>,<karage@scus1.ctstateu.edu>
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Alexandre (Alex) Khalil <9999SC01@DT3.DT.UH.EDU>,<alex@dt.uh.edu>
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Patrick Arzul <andrewd@cs.uct.ac.za>
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Mike Threepoint <linhart@trident.usacs.rutgers.edu>
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Glaude David [Glu] <dglaude@is1.vub.ac.be>
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Jean-Marc Lasgouttes <Jean-Marc.Lasgouttes@inria.fr>
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Itamar Even-Zohar <itiez@ccsg.tau.ac.il>
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A.Weeks%bath.ac.uk@ib.rl.ac.uk
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Miguel Farah.
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This collection would not have been what it today is without their
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help!
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Author's Address
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================
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E-mail internet address: yogi@cs.technion.ac.il
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Alternate E-mail addresses: yogi@cs.ubc.ca, yogi@umiacs.umd.edu.
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Permanent mailing address is:
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Joseph Gil, P.O. Box 3148, Jerusalem, Israel.
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Hebrew mailing address (you cannot read the following unless
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your screen adapter can display Hebrew character):
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<20><><EFBFBD> <20><><EFBFBD><EFBFBD>
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3148 .<2E>.<2E>
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<20><><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD>
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--------------------------------------------------------------------------
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From comp.fonts Sat Sep 5 11:12:35 1992
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walsh@cs.umass.edu (Norman Walsh)
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Newsgroups: comp.fonts Subject: FAQ: Part-I: General Info Message-ID:
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<WALSH.92Sep4153207@ibis.cs.umass.edu> Date: 4 Sep 92 19:32:07 GMT
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Reply-To: walsh@cs.umass.edu Organization: Dept of Comp and Info Sci,
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Univ of Mass (Amherst)
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FAQ for comp.fonts: Part I: General Info
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Maintained by Norm Walsh <walsh@cs.umass.edu> and
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Bharathi Jagadeesh <bjag@nwu.edu>
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Version 0.0.3, Release 04SEP92
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Welcome to the comp.fonts FAQ. This article, posted monthly, describes
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many of the basic questions that seem to be repeated frequently on
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comp.fonts. Your comments are both welcome and encouraged.
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Standard disclaimers apply.
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....
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At one level, there are two major sorts of fonts: bitmapped and
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outline (scalable). Bitmapped fonts are falling out of fashion
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as various outline technologies grow in popularity and support.
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Bitmapped fonts represent each character as a rectangular grid of
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pixels. The bitmap for each character indicates precisely what
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pixels should be on and off. Printing a bitmapped character is
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simply a matter of blasting the right bits out to the printer.
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There are a number of disadvantages to this approach. The bitmap
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represents a particular instance of the character at a particular
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size and resolution. It is very difficult to change the size,
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shape, or resolution of a bitmapped character without significant
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loss of quality in the image. On the other hand, it's easy to do
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things like shading and filling with bitmapped characters.
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.....
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5. Are fonts copyrightable?
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This topic is hotly debated at regular intervals on comp.fonts.
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Terry Carroll <tjc50@juts.ccc.amdahl.COM> provides the following
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analysis of current [ed: as of 6/92] legislation and regulation
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regarding fonts and copyrights. Members of the comp.fonts community
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are encouraged to submit other materials that add clarity to the
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issue.
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*-[Quote]-----------------------------------------------------------*
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First, the short answer: Typefaces are not copyrightable; bitmapped
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fonts are not copyrightable, but scalable fonts are copyrightable.
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Authorities for these conclusions follow.
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Before we get started, let's get some terminology down:
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A typeface is a set of letters, numbers, or other symbolic
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characters, whose forms are related by repeating design elements
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consistently applied in a notational system and are intended to be
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embodied in articles whose intrinsic utilitarian function is for use
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in composing text or other cognizable combinations of characters.
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A font is the computer file or program that is used to represent
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or create the typeface.
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Now, on to the legal authorities:
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Volume 37 of the Code of Federal Regulations specifies this about
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the copyrightability of typefaces:
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"The following are examples of works not subject to copyright and
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applications for registration of such works cannot be entertained:
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. . . typeface as typeface" 37 CFR 202.1(e).
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By the way, you won't find that in the most recent (7/1/91) edition
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of the CFR; the addition was enacted 2/21/92. It'll be in the
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next edition, though. It's described in the 2/21/92 edition of
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the Federal Register, page 6201 (57 FR 6201). The change didn't
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actually change the law, it just clarified it, and codified existing
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Copyright Office policy.
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The regulation is in accordance with the House of Representatives
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report that accompanied the new copyright law, when it was passed
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in 1976:
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"The Committee has considered, but chosen to defer, the possibility
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of protecting the design of typefaces. A 'typeface' can be defined
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as a set of letters, numbers, or other symbolic characters, whose
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forms are related by repeating design elements consistently applied
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in a notational system and are intended to be embodied in articles
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whose intrinsic utilitarian function is for use in composing text
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or other cognizable combinations of characters. The Committee
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does not regard the design of typeface, as thus defined, to be a
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copyrightable 'pictoral, graphic, or sculptural work' within the
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meaning of this bill and the application of the dividing line in
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section 101." H. R. Rep. No. 94-1476, 94th Congress, 2d Session
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at 55 (1976), reprinted in 1978 U.S. Cong. and Admin. News 5659,
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5668.
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It's also in accordance with the one court case I know of that
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has considered the matter: Eltra Corp. V. Ringer, 579 F.2d 294,
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208 USPQ 1 (1978, C.A. 4, Va.).
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The Copyright Office holds that a bitmapped font is nothing more
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than a computerized representation of a typeface, and as such is
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not copyrightable:
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"The [September 29, 1988] Policy Decision [published at 53 FR 38110]
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based on the [October 10,] 1986 Notice of Inquiry [published at 51
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FR 36410] reiterated a number of previous registration decisions
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made by the [Copyright] Office. First, under existing law, typeface
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as such is not registerable. The Policy Decision then went on
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to state the Office's position that 'data that merely represents
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an electronic depiction of a particular typeface or individual
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letterform' [that is, a bitmapped font] is also not registerable."
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57 FR 6201.
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However, scalable fonts are, in the opinion of the Copyright
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Office, computer programs, and as such are copyrightable:
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"... the Copyright Office is persuaded that creating scalable
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typefonts using already-digitized typeface represents a
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significant change in the industry since our previous [September
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29, 1988] Policy Decision. We are also persuaded that computer
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programs designed for generating typeface in conjunction with low
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resolution and other printing devices may involve original computer
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instructions entitled protection under the Copyright Act. For
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example, the creation of scalable font output programs to produce
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harmonious fonts consisting of hundreds of characters typically
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involves many decisions in drafting the instructions that drive the
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printer. The expression of these decisions is neither limited by
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the unprotectable shape of the letters nor functionally mandated.
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This expression, assuming it meets the usual standard of authorship,
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is thus registerable as a computer program." 57 FR 6202.
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*-[Unquote]---------------------------------------------------------*
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