Fonts and Copyright

[mhcrxlc at dir.manchester-computing-centre.ac.uk]

Alex Passi writes:

>Being quite ignorant of the intricate folds of UK law, I will limit myself to
>one question: does the license granted by a manufacturer on a font cease if I
>modify the font to make it better suit my needs (using a legally obtained pro-
>gram)? Conversely, can a manufacturer ever grant me a license on a product
>which
>it doesn't have, i.e. the modified font?
>I would appreciate comments on this matter - specifically, we are dealing with
>a personal, non-commercial use of a modified typeface which, in its basic form,
>is shipped with every Macintosh computer.

I suspect that this is a non-problem so long as the font is only used on a
Mac. There are a rather large number of fonts in InterNet archives for Mac
shareware which are simple modifications of the fonts which come with the
Mac. Apple has made no attempt to restrict this and almost certainly
doesn't intend to do so.

I think it is quite safe to use any such font on a Mac. It might be
different elsewhere, since Apple may not be the copyright holder or license
holder for this version of Times on other machines.

Lance Cousins

MANCHESTER, UK
Email: mhcrxlc at dir.mcc.ac.uk