Typophile

Creating/Modifying Existing Font

lmariop

Hello all. I’m new to this site and I’ve read through lots of posts and couldn’t find anything specific to my question, so here it is.

I want to create a new font that is very similar to and existing font. I can base it off of a font that I do own a lisence to or start from scratch. When I’m finished it will closely resemble a font that is just too expensive to purchase. And I don’t really want to change fonts. So basically I want to copy a font, make some minor changes so it’s not exact, then use this new font in the old one’s place. Please refrain from belting me with rotten tomatoes and cabbage, I’m really just looking for the legalities involved with this type of thing. Like for instance, can one build a font that looks almost exactly like trade gothic, maybe not even using the original, then call it their own?

Or, say I create a new font from scratch and it’s exactly like garamond, but i’ve never seen garamond, are their legal issues?

Thanks for all your help, you all seem like a very intelligent and resourceful group.

Mario

‹ unicode for alternates What may be the problem? ›
Tiffany Wardle

Many people start their fonts from old specimens they find and make changes and or add more characters.

What you can’t and shouldn’t do is start by using someone else’s font and make your own. Ethically speaking, whether you start from the actually font file or if you print it out, either way, you are on shaky ground.

Just because a font is too expensive is not a good reason to do it. Consider the time you will spend to create the font. How much is your time worth? Add to that any legal woes you might have should you step on someone’s toes. Now is it less expensive to actually license the font?

lmariop

So if I create a font from scratch and it resembles another font I am OK?

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