Re:Programmers generate every possible melody in MIDI to pre...
by jameshart on Friday February 28, 2020 @08:22AM
(#22442562)
Presumably copyright law makes this allowance for type because the point of typefaces is to be reproduced.
Re:Programmers generate every possible melody in MIDI to pre...
by paulddraper on Friday February 28, 2020 @08:26AM
(#22442596)
That is in fact, the point of all digitized information, including recorded audio.
(But yes, I do agree that typefaces are exceptionally commonly distributed.)
Re:Programmers generate every possible melody in MIDI to pre...
by paulgb on Friday February 28, 2020 @08:26AM
(#22442591)
Thanks for supporting your point :) I have to admit that the difference in copyrightability of fonts vs. typefaces is new to me.
Re:Programmers generate every possible melody in MIDI to pre...
by paulddraper on Friday February 28, 2020 @09:08AM
(#22442833)
Now at least the inane font-vs-typeface distinction made by modern designers has some practical distinction to it, albeit a legal one.
It comes down to this: Typefaces/glyphs are not copyrightable. The font code that produces those glyphs is.
> Typefaces cannot be protected by copyright in the United States (Code of Federal Regulations, Ch 37, Sec. 202.1(e); Eltra Corp. vs. Ringer)...However, there is a distinction between a font and a typeface. The machine code used to display a stylized typeface (called a font) is protectable as copyright. [1]
In software, a similar "black-box" derivation process has happened many times, e.g. UNIX/GNU. Copyrights applies to software source code, but not software functionality.
Determining what is the "essential, creative work" in each case in a nuanced way is a matter for courts and armies of lawyers: Apple round corners, Oracle Java APIs, etc.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intellectual_property_protecti...