Thank you for your comments. It is true that Microsoft no longer
provides the free font download service, but that is a distribution
issue, not a licensing one.
According to the web site at http://simplythebest.net, Verdana and
Georgia are freeware. Technically freeware is not in the public domain,
so in that sense, Ulrich is correct. When I gave my earlier explanation,
I was trying to avoid technicalities what I did not think applied to our
group. However, your point is well made. Freeware is free for use by
"professional webmasters and hobbyists," but if you wish to use them
commercially, you may have to register them first.
The link for the Verdana font, which includes the licensing information,
is at http://www.simplythebest.net/fonts/fonts/verdana.html, and the
link to the Georgia description is at
http://www.simplythebest.net/fonts/fonts/georgia.html.
If you find any information to the contrary, by all means let me know.
Metta,
Eric
-----Original Message-----
From: Bhikkhu Pesala [mailto:pesala@...]
Sent: Friday, December 12, 2003 6:03 AM
To: Pali@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [Pali] Re: Verdana and Georgia Fonts
Ulrich gave me permission to post his email on the forum:
Dear Bhikkhu Pesala,
Thank you for your email. I am of opinion that
Mr. Eric Van Horn's view is no longer valid.
The Verdana and Georgia fonts were once offered
by Microsoft for free download, but they were
never "public domain". See e.g. the old site
http://www.will-harris.com/verdana-georgia.htm
The links given there are no longer valid, because
later Microsoft withdrew these fonts. The copyright
situation is clearly described at
I am sorry that I cannot give you a more favorable information.
Since I am an expert in copyright matters, I take the
liberty to clarify this point: "Public domain" is a term
unprecisely used nowadays. "Public domain" means that the
copyright period of (in many countries) 70 years after the
author's death has expired. Since the Georgia/Verdana designer
M. Carter is still living, there cannot be any "public domain".
However, designer Carter and/or Microsoft could have licensed
the right to everyone to modify and redistribte these two fonts.
But the Microsoft website link given above states clearly:
"The following fonts are wholly owned by Microsoft and are not
available to license for redistribution, 'Verdana', 'Georgia' ..."
I wish you (and me (!) and others) were authorized to modify the
Verdana/Georgia fonts by Pali etc. diacritics and were authorized
to redistribute these fonts to the Pali and Sanskrit community.
You may post my email on the Pali bulletin for other to read,
or else pass it along only to Mr. Eric Van Horn.
Best wishes,
Ulrich
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