Of late there has been a discussion on the web on copyright
of the fonts of "Kannada" which is a language used by over 50 million persons
in India and officially recognized by the constitution of India.
The controversy is over a free software which is said to
have used (Now discarded) a font in one of its' original versions on which
another entity is claiming copyright. The allegation is that the copyright
violation helped the free software developer to establish his software.
While thinking on this issue, it is necessary for the
community to consider if at all it is correct for copyright to be recognized
for "Fonts".
In defining the objective of
“Copyright Protection”, the US Constitution states
Quote
[The Congress shall have power] "To
promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing for limited
times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective
writings and discoveries;"
Unquote
We can also recall the
following statement was made by a group of Chief Executives of the California
State University (CSU), the State University of New York (SUNY), and the City
University of New York (CUNY) in an effort to protect the Educational system
from the onslaught of overzealous Copyright protectors.
Quote
” The fundamental mission of higher education is to
advance and disseminate knowledge. This mission is realized through the use
of various information formats, learning environments, and modes of delivery
without unreasonable copyright restrictions.”
Unquote
"Font" is a written expression of a language or the alphabets of a language.
Language itself is a way of expression of the community. The expression of a
community can be oral or written. "Written Expression" requires the use
of "Characters" that are standard and commonly accepted by the community as
representing a spoken expression. What gives value to a "Font" is the
resemblance to a standard. It should not be considered as a work of art
which is an independent creation.
Any copyright claim on the "Font" indirectly claims the
"Copyright" on the language itself. Particularly when we discuss "Fonts" used
in a technology medium such as "Internet", granting "Copyright" on web usable
fonts is providing control over the "Expression on the web medium".
Despite the technical nuances involved in creating and
displaying a font on the web page, "Font" should be considered beyond the IPR
frontier for the reason that it is a manner of written expression in the Cyber
Space.
I am aware that the issue has wide connotations in the
"Computer Industry" where Microsoft itself and Adobe are sitting on several
copyrighted fonts in English and other languages. In comparison the issue in
Kannada is a minor problem which can be sorted out by a dialogue between both
the disputing parties since this dispute is driven by reasons other than
commercial considerations.
I wish that Netizen right activists take up this issue in
the appropriate forum and fight for the "Free Licensing" of Fonts. A "Credit"
or "Acknowledgement" should be a sufficient way of rewarding the creator of
fonts.
Alternatively, the Government of India should legislate
that "Fonts" should be subject matter of "Compulsory Free Licensing". In
respect of the Kannada Font, I request the Karnataka Government to take
necessary steps to declare that all "Kannada fonts per-se used in the
computers and web space should be considered as community right and not
subject to commercial considerations of any kind".
I invite the views of the members to reproduce them at www.naavi.org
Naavi
July 05, 2004
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