Laying ice at Main Street Arena
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charlottesville
I'm a mechanical engineer and photographer in Charlottesville, VA.
Uh oh, Microsoft ('s distributor) is not happy with my Comic Slab font
I got a (very polite) letter from a Bill at Ascender Corporation, the authorized distributor for Microsoft fonts. They don't like that I'm distributing Comic Slab because it's based on their unfortunately-way-too-popular font, Comic Sans. The email is below. My first response was, "Yea, someone actually cares!" But then I started to worry that they could actually do something.
So…what do I do here? Any copyright lawyers out there that can tell me if this counts as fair use since it's most definitely a parody?
I'll play armchair lawyer, based on this handy Stanford/NOLO guide…
The transformative factor: "Has the material you have taken from the original work been transformed by adding new expression or meaning?"
Uh, yeah. Serifs totally add a meaning of seriousness. And an expression of readability.
The transformative factor: "Was value added to the original by creating new information, new aesthetics, new insights and understandings?"
Well duh. New information: feet. New aesthetics: the obvious beauty. New insights and understandings: Comic Sans is annoying; stop using it.
The nature of copyrighted work: "…you will have a stronger case of fair use if the material copied is from a published work…"
It's unfortunate, but Comic Sans is indeed published. EVERYWHERE!
The amount and substantiality of the portion taken: "The less you take, the more likely that your copying will be excused as a fair use. However, even if you take a small portion of a work, your copying will not be a fair use if the portion taken is the "heart" of the work."
Look, a pretty bird.
…No wait!
"This rule--less is more--is not necessarily true in parody cases. In a parody, the parodist is borrowing in order to comment upon the original work. A parodist is permitted to borrow quite a bit, even the heart of the original work, in order to conjure up the original work."
Yessssssss.
The effect of the use upon the potential market: "Another important fair use factor is whether your use deprives the copyright owner of income or undermines a new or potential market"
Comic Sans has been included in almost every computer created since 1995; my font is not depriving anyone of any sales of Comic Sans. I can't even get my friends to use Comic Slab; there is no potential market. And the point isn't to replace Comic Sans anyway, it's to point out how ridonkulous it is.
So, I don't have a law degree or anything, but I think I've got a pretty solid case if Microsoft sends their lawyers*.
*Dear Microsoft (and Ascender Corporation), please don't send any lawyers.
from: Bill —— <——@ascendercorp.com>
reply-to: ——@ascendercorp.com
to: a.j.maher2001@gmail.com
date: Mon, Nov 15, 2010 at 8:54 AM
subject: Comic Slab fontHi AJ,My company, Ascender Corporation, is the authorized distributor of Microsoft fonts, including Comic Sans.I saw your Comic Slab font, http://ajmaher.posterous.com/comic-slabfor-the-casual-professional, and wanted to find out if this is a derivative work, or a completely new design you made.A derivative work would be opening up Comic Sans in a font editor and then modifying it and saving it as a new font. If this is the case, can you please remove this font from your website? Microsoft’s fonts may not be redistributed, except by authorized licensees.If you created this font from scratch by drawing it yourself, then please let me know.Sincerely,
Bill ——AscenderCorp.com | AscenderFonts.com25 Northwest Point Blvd. • Suite 225 • Elk Grove Village, IL 60007 • USA
Phone 847-357-0730
Update: I asked for clarification about fair use, and Bill sent me the following email. I've taken the font file down for now because I don't want to get sued by Comic Sans. But I still think what I did was fair use.
Hi A.J. – thanks for responding. As you can tell, our company is not a bunch of lawyers, but rather a group of type designers/font people who are trying to make a living like the next guy.
Yes, I think what you’ve done would be considered a parody in a general sense. But the Comic Cans font, and all other Microsoft fonts, are covered by the end user license for the fonts or the product that they came with (Windows or Office). That license allows the fonts to be used by you to create documents etc. But you cannot further distribute them or share them with others.
This page gives an overview of what you can and cannot do: http://www.microsoft.com/typography/RedistributionFAQ.mspx
While the license may allow you to modify/edit the fonts, this would only be for your personal use on that machine.
You can show the artwork of the Comic Slab font on your site. But you cannot offer a link for folks to download the fonts.
Hope this explains things.
Thanks for your cooperation.
Bill
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VIBE skate practice
VIBE, a local figure skating troupe had a practice at the Charlottesville Ice Park Tuesday, a day before it was scheduled to close. It seems it's still a mystery what will happen to the ice rink after Wednesday. Where will we play broomball if new owners turn it into something else?
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