In the USA, as far as I know, copyright applies to the font software, not the typeface design. You can trademark the name, and you can register a design patent for the design. However, registering patents and trademarks costs money, and even if you get a design patent it will cost more money to enforce it.

Speaking as somebody who has recently designed a sort-of-geometric sort-of-sans serif typeface, I think there's still room for original design in this area. Of course, I went for a two-story "a"....

Regards,

T

Thomas,

Thank you so much for your help. That's all the push I need. I think I will try to step away from Futura though, there are several Futura-inspired typefaces already... Avant Garde and Century Gothic to name a few.

What I think I would want to create in my typeface is a sense of simplicity... something that could have been easily drawn using a stroke or two, but at the same time have a quality that says "I wish I could've thought of that".

I will start working on the font and use it in my own work, and maybe put it on myfonts if it looks okay. Because I know I would get a kick out of it if I saw other people using it as well.

Thomas, thanks again. I admire your work a lot!

Thomas,

I forgot to ask. Did you publish that creation of your anywhere? I'd be curious to see what it looks like.

Thanks!

> I would want to create in my typeface is a sense of simplicity...
> something that could have been easily drawn using a stroke or two,

A stroke or two but which tool with, Mr. Lauri Johnsen?

Lauri:

Which work are you speaking of? I'm wondering if perhaps you have me confused with somebody else? My actual type design work has been seen by hardly anybody; most people know me mostly as a technical guy and occasional writer. This is not an entirely bad thing, since most of my early type design attempts were pretty uninspired.

However, my latest typeface is not too bad, and will be released as an Adobe Original in, oh, maybe 5-8 months? The upright Latin portions are pretty much done, but I have more grunt work to do on the italics (though the Latin italic designs are pretty much locked down), the Cyrillic still needs some work, and the Greek is only now starting to not suck too badly.

Cheers,

T

>and the Greek is only now starting to not suck too badly. <

Thomas,
Just spray some Windex on it :-)

Alessandro,

I was thinking of using an even stroke for this typeface... not sure what real-life tool that what require. =)

BTW: Thanks for calling me mister, people usually think I am of the female gender because of my name.