

Lost typeface printing blocks found in river Thames - sjclemmy
http://m.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-31188255

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ChuckMcM
Its a lame blurb, the story of the Doves Typeface is here:
[http://www.economist.com/news/christmas-
specials/21591793-le...](http://www.economist.com/news/christmas-
specials/21591793-legendary-typeface-gets-second-life-fight-over-doves) which
is somewhat interesting. That they have found a few more pieces of it is,
interesting as well. No need to click the link though and read this :

 _Printing blocks for a typeface called Doves Type have been discovered in the
River Thames.

The font has not been used for nearly a century as the printing type blocks,
used to print letters, were thrown into the river in 1917._

And have your screen start talking to you with an advertisement.

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smoyer
I came to provide that exact link ... it's a great article and the fact that
they've found some of the type lends credence to the legend (that it had been
dumped in the Thames). I can't wait to see this on Google fonts!

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justincormack
It is for sale, not on Google fonts [http://www.typespec.co.uk/doves-
type/](http://www.typespec.co.uk/doves-type/)

~~~
nitrogen
If the font is really that old, shouldn't it be out of copyright? Courts have
held that faithful digital reproductions of public domain paintings are not
copyrightable; could the same apply to fonts?

~~~
Alex3917
Typefaces aren't copyrightable to begin with. When you license one, you're
only licensing the ability to use the name.

~~~
nitrogen
Could you provide a reference for that so we can learn more? That sounds
contrary to what I've read previously.

~~~
Alex3917
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intellectual_property_protectio...](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intellectual_property_protection_of_typefaces)

~~~
nitrogen
Interesting. It sounds like it's still possible for a font _file_ to be
copyrighted, though:

 _However, in 1992, the US Copyright Office revisited its 1988 decision, and
determined that the latest digital outline fonts in fact had elements that
could be protected as software.[4] Since that time, the Office has accepted
registration of copyright for digital vector fonts, such as PostScript Type 1,
TrueType, and OpenType format files.

This is part of the basis of the unpublished opinion in Adobe Systems, Inc. v.
Southern Software, Inc., decided in 1998, wherein Judge Whyte found that Adobe
Software held a valid copyright for its Utopia font and that it had been
infringed by the defendant(s) in that case._

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GokPotter
This is a better article: [http://www.creativereview.co.uk/cr-
blog/2015/february/recove...](http://www.creativereview.co.uk/cr-
blog/2015/february/recovering-the-doves-type)

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captn3m0
You can buy a digital version of the typeface for 40 pounds at
[http://www.typespec.co.uk/doves-type/](http://www.typespec.co.uk/doves-type/)

~~~
cemerick
The 'Qu' almost-ligature is great. But wow, is font licensing screwed
up...."contact us" for > 10K views per month!

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rayiner
Where is the article? Or is it just the blurb.

~~~
nicky0
The "article" is the video embedded in the page. Although it doesn't have much
more information.

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fnordfnordfnord
I wonder what other things are sitting on the bottom of the Thames.

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amelius
This could be an interesting topic for the Discovery channel.

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netflix_blows
Oh no - quick hide it, otherwise we will start to see a rash posting of web
design blogs swanning around using it and claiming how individual they are, in
a copied each other kind of way.

