Can't Embed Font and Company is MIA

[homeboy4]

I am trying to make a PDF of an InDesign document for printing. However, I get an error message that a font I downloaded from DaFont (Flares) can't be embedded due to licensing restrictions. I'm quite willing to pay for the font. The problem is that the company (FontCo) is apparently out of business. 

I have a workaround involving making a JPEG, but I wonder if there is a another solution. And what happens in situations like this? Do these fonts remain orphans forever?

[Test Screen Name]

If the owner of IP stops trading, the IP can't be purchased any more - that's it until 100 years has passed. Of course, someone might buy up the IP owner or its assets and start trading again. Things don't pass into the public domain just because nobody is willing to sell (or even if nobody seems to be in charge).

[Dov Isaacs · Accepted solution]

I've downloaded the font in question and in fact, the protection bits (fsType flags in the TrueType font OS/2 table) are set to prohibit embedding of the font. Ironically, the same protection bits are set to allow font subsetting. That is somewhat of a contradiction. To make things even more interesting, the font was generated on February 22, 2007 using Macromedia Fontographer 4.1 10/30/99. If I recall correctly, that old version of Fontographer set the embedding bits by default to disallow embedding. Back then, it is very likely that The font designer, John Bruce of FontCo might not have even known anything about font embedding privileges and how to set them.

The ReadMe.txt file that accompanies the font reads:

Flares © 2005 - is a freeware FontCo.com font by Jon B. 

Download this font and many others at:

http://www.fontco.com

You may use this font for personal and commercial purposes. If you use the font for commercial purposes I ask that you provide a link to fontco.com somewhere on the your web site.

You may distribute this font from a web site as long as:

   • it is available as a free download
   • this unaltered ReadMe.txt file is included with the font file
   • you provide a visible link back to fontco.com

You may not sell or include this font in a collection of fonts on a CD, DVD, or any other similar media.

Furthermore, the legal notice within the .TTF font file itself similarly reads:

This Freeware font was created by FontCo.com (c) 1999 IdeaShops.com Network - All Rights Reserved. You may distribute this font from free web sites only. Do not include with font collections on CD or other similar media. 

Obviously, there are tools out there to remove the font's protection. However, although the ReadMe.txt file implies that this font is pretty much free to use as you wish and it is very likely that the intent of the font's designer was to allow its use as an embedded font with PDF files, without some explicit statement to that effect from th designer, John Bruce, you are pretty much out of luck. FontCo.com seems to be an abandoned/broken website and at least my web searches for John Bruce, FontCo, and/or Flares yield nothing but references to websites offering free download of John Bruce's fonts with a reference to FontCo.

Sorry, but that is not very encouraging.

The only workaround that you might consider assuming all you need are certain glyphs from the font as graphics would be to outline text using that font in InDesign (one file for each glyph you need), export to PDF, and then place and size such PDF files as necessary in other InDesign files. The ReadMe.txt file which could be construed as serving as a license for the font does not prohibit such outlining hacks.

[homeboy4]

I hesitated to post this since I didn't figure there was any legal solution. On the other hand, you don't know what you don't know. Converting to outlines never occured to me and that was the perfect solution. 10 electoral votes to you!

[JonathanArias]

Switch fonts?

[Dov Isaacs]

If you look at the font in question, you probably wouldn't ask that question! 😉

The font in question is a very specialized symbol / Dingbats font for which you are very unlikely to find an alternative font with those glyphs much less with those glyphs with the same mappings!

[Test Screen Name]

I do hope one of these solutions works for the original poster, for this particular font. I wanted add a little more about, in general, the copyright status of fonts whose owner cannot be contacted, or which are removed from sale. These are part of the general category of "abandonware", which have a long and complicated history, which is inextricably linked to the various copyright laws around the world. There is a good outline in this article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abandonware