Classic Fonts (for Print) on Linux

[_axiom_]

They suggested I ask this in the art forum (http://www.ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=148319).

I am looking to get some of the classic fonts (such as (Futura, Helvetica, Garamond, etc.) into our repositories so they will be available for people who want to do any kind of design on Linux.

Someone pointed out FontForge to me, and despite is use of a very old toolkit (tk?) it seems like a well-designed program. So I have sort have solved my technical problem, I can open the Adobe fonts and save them in other formats or create new versions of them.

My question now is: how do we do this legally? Even though "United States law does not permit the copyrighting of typeface designs (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Typeface)", I am sure that Adobe would cause trouble if we started distributing free versions of their fonts. What if we base our fonts on older versions? How would you be able to tell the difference? Futura is made of a few simple lines and curves for each letter, and is we do it the way Paul Renner did in 1926 is would look exactly like Adobe's version.

I haven't yet seen many people concerned about having free classic fonts on Linux, I suppose that is since most designers still use Macs.

[s|k]

The classic fonts are in the repositories already. I forget the name, but I have all those installed on my system.

EDIT: Actually no, not the ones you mentioned, but I do have the Microsoft fonts such as Arial, Verdana, etc.


Also I don't understand your question, since you contradicted yourself there and just assumed a bunch stuff. If it's not illegal than there's nothing they can do. What are they gonna hire goons to kick your door down?

[_axiom_]

Yeah, Arial is no Helvetica.
http://www.ms-studio.com/articles.html

I looked at some of your wallpapers, and you seem to have some design skills, but your work would benefit if you had some classic fonts to work with.

I may seem to be contradicting myself, mostly because I don't entirely understand the situation. I would like to do something that is legal and benefits lots of people, but even though you can't copyright a typeface in the US, the law may be different in other countries, or you may be able to patent it, or trademark the name (though I would think, not the old names).

I am really looking for a little guidance on how to get this started, or to know whether anyone else has started such a project. I think it would be great if ubuntu came with a nice selection of professional-looking fonts.

[s|k]

I agree, I checked out fontforge a few days ago and it looks simple enough to use if you know how to work with vectors (although I didn't see any ability to snap so you have to line things up using the ruler :(), but you know if you want to get started on this I'm totally willing to help you. Feel free to IM me or PM on the forums if you like.

I'm all about legality too, so it's a good concern to have.