Printing presses are older than (most) copyright laws.
Re:Smallest Typeface (3x3)
by kube-system on Friday December 29, 2023 @01:28AM
(#38802271)
Yes, and they still existed when those laws were written. It would have been a strange shift to make overnight for any new printing presses, no?
Well, before those laws you could presumably copy anything, and after that you had to get the author's permission.
(I say presumably, because most likely those laws replaced some earlier similar regulations.)
> the IRS would choose fonts that were either in the public domain or had permissive licenses.
Presuming a suitable option existed at the time, without requiring the IRS to make one themselves.
It would be silly if, by default, the purchaser of a printing press has no legal right to print anything with it.