[Pokeytax]

(I hate to create a new thread for this, but I can't track down any contact info and I know Gemini will see this.)

Is it okay to use the Melissa font posted to this site in an upcoming NDS translation (with appropriate credit given, obviously)? I'm guessing it's okay and that's why it's posted, but better safe than sorry!

[Bregalad]

*) If people wouldn't want you to use their fonts, they wouldn't post them here in the first place
*) Fonts are not copyrightable, so they are by definition free to use

[henke37]

Surely you jest, fonts are quite well covered by copyright.

[FAST6191]

"Fonts are not copyrightable, so they are by definition free to use"

Really? Everything I had seen said they were in a lot of countries and font people were even pretty keen on it ( http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/nbcu-sued-harry-potter-font-theft-lawsuit-351823 http://www.winbeta.org/news/microsoft-faces-copyright-lawsuit-using-hebrew-type-fonts-without-permission http://blog.webink.com/font-licensing-101/ http://blog.webink.com/font-licensing-and-the-freelance-web-designer/ ). They might not be patentable or possible even trademarkable but I always thought they were copyrightable and able to be licensed accordingly. Likewise your country is something of an oddity here it would seem.

What I am mainly here to ask though is does this mean you have a nice tool for this Pokeytax or are you just spending an evening with a tile editor/crystaltile2?

[Bregalad]

They might not be patentable or possible even trademarkable but I always thought they were copyrightable and able to be licensed accordingly.

Hmm, what's the difference ? 

[FinS]

There is no copyright protection for a single size font itself. You can only copyright software which the scalable fonts of the operating would be an example of.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intellectual_property_protection_of_typefaces

Based upon the decision in Eltra v Ringer and the clear and explicit actions of Congress - the status quo regarding typeface and copyright has remained unchanged and is as firmly in place today as it was since the first Copyright Act in 1790. As it was then, so it is now: typeface designs do not fall within the Copyright Act's definition of pictorial, graphic, or sculptural works that qualify for copyright protection.

[Pokeytax]

While I didn't know that typefaces are not subject to copyright in the US - how interesting! - this is more about showing respect and gratitude to Gemini for creating and publicly posting a font good enough to use for a major project. Having these kinds of resources available makes translating easier.

What I am mainly here to ask though is does this mean you have a nice tool for this Pokeytax or are you just spending an evening with a tile editor/crystaltile2?

Yeah, I just sketched it into a .BMP that I exported/reimported using Crystal Tile 2. (Thanks for that, by the way! You are in the credits for this patch too.) A tool is an interesting idea, but with font encoding varying across games so much, it sounds like a lot of work. Plus you'll generally have to make amendments by hand anyway.

Of course I do have a simple font plotter in Excel VBA for adding font to graphics, but, that's hardly the same thing.

[BRPXQZME]

If you want a response from Gemini, best to just message him ;P

Last I checked he was cool with it, though.

[Gemini]

No problem if you wanna use Melissa in a translation. I made the font years ago and never found a suitable game for it, so I'm totally fine with you using it.

[Pokeytax]

Thanks again. It looks boss and I've gotten compliments on it: