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From: alan@pdn.UUCP
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac
Subject: Re: Adobe font license agreement
Message-ID: <1034@pdn.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 14-Aug-87 15:31:31 EDT
Article-I.D.: pdn.1034
Posted: Fri Aug 14 15:31:31 1987
Date-Received: Sun, 16-Aug-87 22:16:08 EDT
References: <402@aucs.UUCP>
Reply-To: alan@pdn.UUCP (0000-Alan Lovejoy)
Distribution: na
Organization: Paradyne Corporation, Largo, Florida
Lines: 31

In article <402@aucs.UUCP> paul@aucs.UUCP (Paul Steele) writes:
>I am posting this message on behalf of a professor in our French
>department.  He has recently purchased Adobe's Sonata font for use
>with a laser printer.  The license agreement states that it can only
>be used on one laser printer.  I guess that this is done by naming
>...[deleted]
>Paul H. Steele      UUCP:      {seismo|watmath|utai|garfield}!dalcs!aucs!Paul
>Acadia University   BITNET:    {Paul|phs}@Acadia
>Wolfville, NS       Internet:  {Paul|phs}%Acadia.BITNET@WISCVM.WISC.EDU
>CANADA  B0P 1X0     PHONEnet:  (902) 542-2201x587

I developed an IBM-PC font initialization/installation program for Adobe
Fonts while I was working for ScenicSoft in Seattle.  This work was done
under contract to Adobe Systems.  Of course, I cannot comment on the
technical details of the copy-protection scheme that Adobe insisted on
incorporating into the product--besides, the Mac version may be somewhat
different.  However, we at ScenicSoft told Adobe repeatedly that their
customers would complain.  The case of customers who don't even own a
laser printer never occured to us.  But the problem of broken, stolen,
"repaired", upgraded, destroyed or adulterated laser printers is
obvious.  There is also the problem of customers who own multiple
printers--for which Adobe has a solution (?):  font Master Disks that
allow the customer to "initialize" fonts for upto 5 printers
simultaneously.  Such multi-printer font packages cost more, of course.
Perhaps the professor should consider purchasing one of these (I realize
that this is not the optimum solution).  It could be that Adobe, who
gets some (if not all) of their fonts from third parties, is REQUIRED
by circumstances beyond their control to impose such onerous protection
mechanisms on their fonts.

--Alan