The Lawbringer: Fonts and why you cannot sue Deathwing
by Mathew McCurley 
Nov 27th 2010 at 6:00PM
Thanksgiving is here and, as a citizen of the United States of America, I must do my legal (I think?) duty and eat a ton of food and bake a pie. The pie baking happened last night, actually. Delicious, delicious pumpkin pie. You seriously have no idea how hungry I am ...
Anyway, as it is time to celebrate and be joyous and thankful and all that jazz, The Lawbringer this week is light and fun. I've assembled two little anecdotes from the past week to share with you guys, provide a little food for thought (since the holiday is about eating ... right? Get it? Whatever ...) and give you something fun to read while you're in the car back from whatever embarrassing family gathering you're currently heading far away from.
You can't sue Deathwing
You would not believe the number of emails that I received (two) after The Shattering occured from angry players wishing to take legal vengeance upon the self-proclaimed Aspect of Death, Deathwing. While a noble and perhaps foolhardy goal, I don't think you would gain much traction in suing Deathwing for breaking your stuff or destroying your world.
Why can't I sue Deathwing?
We do not really know how the laws of Azeroth work. Does each human kingdom have its own set of laws and rules? Probably. Is there such thing as jurisdiction on Azeroth? Most likely. What lawyer on Azeroth or Draenor would take your case? Who knows?
Deathwing is definitely a criminal in the eyes of our laws. In fact, he's the physical embodiment of malicious intent. The problem with suing a dragon, at the end of the day, isn't about serving papers or hiring lawyers -- it's about enforcement of the law. Laws don't work unless they can be enforced, and sadly, we don't get to enforce any kind of judgement against Deathwing until at least patch 4.4 or 4.5.
Also, there comes a time in every man's life when he has to look back at the paragraph he just wrote, stare, wonder, and be thankful that he gets to write phrases like "the problem with suing a dragon."
Sadly, Deathwing is not within the long arm of Azeroth's law. Not now, anyway. Sure, he may have destroyed your pretty dock and flooded your basins. He might even have broken that dam you dwarves prattle on about so much. Suffice to say, the day will come when Deathwing will have to pay for what he's done to our world, our material possessions and our Dalaran portals. Until then, put all of your hate in escrow.
Many people emailed me this week asking about a certain thread in a certain forum about a certain font contained in a certain addon. Being the addon guy here at WoW Insider, you can imagine how this particular incident was exciting to me, considering it blends two of my favorite things. You all had some pretty good questions about fonts, licensing, and the reasons behind copyrightable fonts. Well, here's a quick primer on fonts and why it is not a good idea to package fonts with addons.
The font issue at hand, in no uncertain terms, was a mix-up. People make mistakes. Read the thread for yourselves here, as it is quite the interesting scenario. As for the resolution -- everything has been fixed, so don't worry about your favorite addon.
Can you copyright digital fonts?
Digital fonts are, in fact, copyrightable as computer programs, for the most part. The design of the font is not the part being copyrighted, but rather the code that gets installed and distributed as part of being able to display and type the specific font. Distribution of a computer program, therefore, applies to font programs as well. If the distribution of the font is limited to a number of computers or for certain types of uses, for instance, than a misuse of the distribution goes against the predetermined end user license agreement.
Caution, addon creators
The last thing we want is for addon creators to get in trouble over licensing issues with fonts. So, when you download or purchase a font, you agree to use that font in a certain way, if there are conditions attached. Addons that package fonts with them may potentially be under certain restrictions that the addon creator did not know of or had no way of knowing about. In light of the issues that sprang up around the addon that caused such a thread, I wanted to provide a little resource for addon developers of free fonts that have little to no licensing requirements, as well as some information to make sure no addon creators have trouble with font issues.
- Vitaly Friedman's epic post on 25 of the best free fonts Remember that you would still need permission for many of these fonts to be redistributed in an addon package, so send off an email or two before distributing and be sure to read the licensing information.
- Adobe has an font anti-piracy initiative page here that neatly explains some aspects of its font licensing.
- Read about the Open Font License here.
- Check out some awesome fonts under the OFL that can allow for redistribution at the Open Font Library.
See you guys next week!
This column is for entertainment only; if you need legal advice, contact a lawyer. For comments or general questions about law or for The Lawbringer, contact Mat at mat@wow.com.Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, The Lawbringer
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
MusedMoose Nov 27th 2010 6:10PM
I remember seeing a quote from someone at Blizzard saying that they were trying to make the Deathwing fight the most epic thing they'd ever done. And now I can't help but wonder if any part of it will involve Deathwing being served papers.
Very, very sturdy papers.
Iirdan Nov 27th 2010 6:23PM
Server: "Mr. Wing, I've been contracted to serve you these papers."
Deathwing: "Pain..."
Server: "Uncountable charges of vandalism, destruction of property, and world-breaking, six counts of money laundering, and one count of petty theft."
Deathwing: "Aaaaaggggony..."
Server: "Yeah that's great. Just show up in court on that date there."
Deathwing: "Just as all life ends in death, all litigation will end in acquittal!"
Azizrael Nov 27th 2010 6:38PM
Process server: "Mr. Deathwing?"
Deathwing: "Deathwing? No, I'm uhh... Neltharion, Aspect of Earth. Deathwing's my room mate, he's at work."
RetPallyJil Nov 27th 2010 6:55PM
With all the .. y'know, fire ... I would hope the papers are stamped into elementium plates a la the Disks of Mishakal.
Matthew Nov 27th 2010 7:27PM
Inscriptionists (scribes) will have to make Asbestos Parchment!
Pandalicious Nov 27th 2010 8:54PM
If the molten armor does not fit, you must acquit. (I tried)
Aruhgulah Nov 28th 2010 12:42AM
What's all this about *lawyers*? Sic the Stormwind IRS on him. Deathwing probably has a hoard of epic loot from hundreds of years of collecting, and none of it's ever been taxed.
Nothing stops the IRS. NOTHING.
Tj Nov 28th 2010 12:45AM
Deathwing: "This lawsuit is merely a setback!"
Rakah Nov 28th 2010 1:03AM
Deathwing gets an ASBO :P
Mourne Nov 28th 2010 1:49AM
If he does get served, he should really settle out of court. I mean, come on, the whole thing is caught on video! And not that grainy black and white, late night convenience store video. We're talking serious broadcast quality video. What's he gonna do, say it was another giant dragon slumbering for ages waiting to destroy the world? How often does that happen. Wait, don't answer that.
Saeadame Nov 27th 2010 6:10PM
I know a lot of free fonts are either "free for personal use" or "free as long as you're not making money off something that uses the fonts"
In that case, how does the "donate" aspect of most addons apply? Certainly, the majority of addons are free, but you can choose to donate to the addon creator if you like. Does that count as "making money" or can you make the claim that all money donated goes into addon improvement and is therefore kind of "non for profit"?
Nandini Nov 27th 2010 9:28PM
If an addon author is uncertain whether a font's license allows it to be redistributed, the easiest thing to do is for the addon author to contact the font's author/designer/publisher for clear permission.
Cambro Nov 28th 2010 1:33AM
(I look to Matthew to correct me if any of this is in error.)
Most fonts that you can obtain online are ones that you either explicitly purchase, or are offered as open source, and usually with a Read Me file that contains the open source license which says, among other things, that you have permission to use it, you may not call it your own, and it is not your own. It will also typically say that you are allowed to distribute this open source font as long as the Read Me file is included. Some licenses also explicitly state that the font is free to use as long as you are not making money for yourself by using it; if you do make money from it, you are expected to purchase a license for the font from the author.
If you download a font that doesn't come with a license (in the download or explicitly on the web page you download it from), assuming the font isn't pirated, the author may not know or not care about protecting his intellectual property, which should not be taken to mean the author gave up his rights.
As far as donating to the addon creator, don't assume that the font creator is getting a cut. In my opinion, the addon should include some notation (separate Read Me file or something in the .toc file) that indicates the font is open source and copyright by the author with that author's contact info, or that the font is included with permission from that author. To my knowledge, donations count as taxable income, and the addon author is responsible for properly paying the font author if the font is not free.
(Also, most fonts without a Read Me file are crap and/or look like 10,000 other fonts...)
Lou Gagliardi Nov 28th 2010 3:11AM
@Cambro
A donation, to my recollection, only counts for tax purposes when it's being used to deduct from taxes.
Like if AOL, or you, decided to donate to the Salvation Army. You could use that donation as a tax write-off as long as you have proper receipts. But the Salvation Army, or any other organization is generally not taxed for that money.
Drakkenfyre Nov 28th 2010 2:16PM
I remember back in the day, when Blizzard used Exocet for the Diablo font (and it's still the Diablo font) they warned people when they started using them that the font doesn't belong to them, but it's licensed from another company, and if they make a fan site using it, because the original company might come after them.
I think a site or two got shut down because they people used the font for the entire site.
Who owns the copyright to the font now, I don't know.
Kemikalkadet Nov 27th 2010 6:26PM
My dad used to work freelance in the printed media industry and font licensing was serious money (assume it still is), the prices for some font licenses were eyewatering. He said one of his biggest assests in finding work was the amount of font licenses he owned and could offer as assets for whatever advert/paper/magazine he was working for. It's completely irrelevant for wow addons though as they're not for profit and don't fall under the same copyright laws that commercial media does, you can safely install any font you like pretty much through shared media and not worry about any repercussions.
Nandini Nov 27th 2010 9:23PM
Thanks for bringing this up! :) Using the SharedMedia library/addon is a great way for players to incorporate their own fonts (that they have a valid license for). There are several tutorials available for doing this. If a favorite addon doesn't work with user fonts registered with SharedMedia, ask the addon's author to incorporate it.
I went on a tirade 18 months ago about font distrubtion with addons, and you can find some helpful and interesting information from addon authors here.
http://forums.wowace.com/showthread.php?t=16253
Spark Nov 27th 2010 10:38PM
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Kemikalkadet Nov 27th 2010 6:26PM
It's completely irrelevant for wow addons though as they're not for profit and don't fall under the same copyright laws that commercial media does, you can safely install any font you like pretty much through shared media and not worry about any repercussions.
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I'm curious as to why you think copyright applies differently to commercial media than the individual. My understanding is that one is as subject to Copyright laws as any other entity; maybe even more so as statutory damages for wilful infringement can be substantial and make you an economically viable target especially if you lack corporate funding for your own legal defence team. The only time profit seems to come to play is during a legal battle over fair use although profit is not the single determination.
And don't get me wrong - I'm not here to admonish anyone to "don't copy that floppy." Feel free to infringe on copyright if you so desire. But do understand what you're doing when you do it (and if you don't like it - avoid restrictive licenses and/or work to get laws changed to favor the public again).
Cambro Nov 28th 2010 1:39AM
Unless the addon author also created the font himself, don't assume he has permission to use <i>as well as</i> distribute the font along with his addon. A font is its own separate creation, subject to equal and fair copyright protection.
Deathleach Nov 27th 2010 6:27PM
Can I sue Garrosh though?