Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!cs.utexas.edu!samsung!uunet!chinacat!woody
From: woody@chinacat.Unicom.COM (Woody Baker @ Eagle Signal)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.postscript
Subject: Re: Font Copyright Info (long)
Summary: whew!
Message-ID: <1117@chinacat.Unicom.COM>
Date: 27 Mar 90 03:40:19 GMT
References: <2027@adobe.UUCP>
Organization: a guest of Unicom Systems Development, Austin
Lines: 33


Thanks Ross.  Quite a dissertation.

A couple of questions/thoughts.

"Copyright infringment if a user of the Adoby typeface program converts
the program to Royal or folio format and redistributes it"

How would this be infringment.  It seems that the entire program would
have to be re-written in order to do this, and that would make it an original
work?

Secondly, what about coordinates?  Given that there are a restricted set
of controlpoints and data points to describe a font character, suppose that
a font developer takes the coordinates for each of these, and represents them
in say an array or some OTHER data structure that Adobe does not use.  Then
they create a procedure that draws the letter using the array.  This code is
completely diffrent from the Adobe font.  The only similarity is the fact
that the same coordinates are used, i.e. the same endpoints and control points.
but they are rendered in a diffrent manner, and a diffrent order.  The output
would be absolutely identical, but  the code would not.  Is this infringement?
What about altering the coordinates by say 3 points in the x direction and
4 points in the y direction, and then compensating for it using a translation.
Is this an infringement.

thirdly:  This is beginning to sound like a broken record
"Although the above use would not be permitted under Copyright law, Adobe
has stated that it will permit sublicenes of Adobe typeface programs to
"......
Who are the sublicencees?

Cheers
Woody