[OpenFontLibrary] Public Domain Fonts due to lack of copyright notice

[minombresbond]

here Ulrich Stiehl document that compiled more than 1000 Linotype
fonts which are in public domain since at least January 2008

http://www.sanskritweb.net/forgers/publicdomain.pdf


> Compiled by Ulrich Stiehl, Heidelberg 2008
>
> Fonts are not copyrightable as "computer programs" ("font software") for the following two simple reasons:
> Firstly, fonts are no computer programs. Secondly, font designers are no computer programmers.
>
> However, many font buyers are dimwitted, and therefore font sellers make these dimwitted font buyers
> believe that fonts are "font software" or "computer programs" and make these dimwitted font buyers believe,
> for instance, that a judge, e.g. Chief Justice of the United States John G. Roberts, if he draws the letter "O"
> with a drawing program, is at this very moment a "computer programmer" writing a "computer program"
> (see below page 2). Of course, only dimwitted font buyers believe such nonsense, while intelligent persons
> know that fonts are no computer programs and font designers are no computer programmers.
>
> For legal details see http://www.sanskritweb.net/forgers/computerprogramm.pdf (in German language only)
>
> Since fonts are no computer programs, they cannot be protected as computer programs by copyright law.
> Therefore only the design of fonts may be protected, provided the respective country provides protection of
> font designs. This is the case for Germany, where font designs, provided such designs are new and original,
> may be protected for a maximum period of 25 years by registration at the German patent office in Munich.
> Since the maximum 25-year-registration period is calculated starting at the end of the year of registration,
> this means for the present year 2008 that fonts published in 1982 or earlier are now in 2008 in public domain
> (Calculation: End of year 1982 + 1 day = 1st January 1983 + 25 years = 1st January 2008).
>
> For instance, in May 1982, the German Mergenthaler Linotype GmbH in Eschborn near Frankfurt published
> a font catalog including well over 1000 Latin fonts divided into 304 Latin font families. (This font catalog
> also contained non-Latin fonts which we may ignore here for our design registration period calculations.)
>
> According to above calculation, all fonts contained in this 1982 Linotype font catalog have fallen into public
> domain at least since 1st January 2008. In fact, however, many fonts contained in this Linotype catalog have
> been in public domain already much earlier for the following reasons: a) Many fonts contained in the 1982
> catalog are much older, i.e. they had been designed many years before the year of 1982, b) The design of
> many Linotype fonts could not be registered due to lack of newness and originality, c) Many fonts had not
> been registered at all or had only been registered for a much shorter period, e.g. for 5 or 10 years.
>
> The fact that many fonts contained in the 1982 Linotype catalog had been licensed by other foundries can be
> ignored here, since also all non-Linotype fonts listed in the 1982 catalog are now in public domain.
>
> So, for practical purposes, we may say that all more than 1000 fonts contained in the 1982 Linotype catalog
> published in 1982 under the title "Type Faces – Schriften – Caractères" are in public domain now in 2008.
> For the complete list of these PD fonts see below pages 3 and 4.
>
> For example, the Linotype catalog of January 1984 contains 1400 fonts, so that 400 additional Linotype fonts
> will fall into public domain in the year of 2010. And e.g. the Linotype catalog of 1989 contains 2000 fonts
> with the consequence that 1000 additional Linotype fonts will be in public domain in the year of 2015.
>
> In the United States, the period of protection is only 14 years ("Patents for designs shall be granted for the
> term of fourteen years from the date of grant", 35 U.S.C. 173 Term of design patent). This means that e.g.
> most fonts contained in the "Linodobe" font collection (see http://www.sanskritweb.net/forgers/linodobe.pdf)
> have already fallen into public domain, as far as the USA is concerned.
>
>                                                                                         Ulrich Stiehl, July 2008


2008/11/11  <Fontfreedom at aol.com>:
> It's my understanding that anything published in the U.S. before March 1,
> 1989 without a valid copyright notice is in the public domain. (unless the
> work was registered with the copyright office, fees paid within a short time
> period.)
>
> It would seem likely SOME fonts were created during that time period without
> a copyright notice. Does anyone know of any?
>
>
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