“If at first the idea is not absurd, then there is no hope for it.” At least, that's what Albert Einstein said, although he wasn't the first to notice the thin line between Genius and Madness.Either Sophocles (pace Plato) or Aristotle is alleged to have said that it’s "the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.”
At this juncture, you may well ask, “What does this have to do with Type Business?"
Well, that depends on how much skin you have in the Status Quo: further information upon request.
Comments
But I was searching for a type oriented forum and not a political one.
I'll leave you to your proselytism.
I'll leave you to your proselytism.
Yes, I like games—just not this one, which served more as a barrier to a serious discussion of business ideas. I think stretching out your preamble into a meandering thread like this reduces the chances of your ideas being taken seriously.
In recent months, I've had to smooth a lot of waves and give all kinds of absurd assurances that I won't be suing my clients. The length and number of release forms I'm asked to sign has easily doubled.
I understand that litigation is necessary in certain cases, but using this as an income strategy seems very short-sighted to me, like boys outside in winter peeing their pants to stay warm. It'll work in the short term, but it'll be a lot worse after.
Much better to be safe and stick to a few trusted large retailers.
Because it seems like the big players have much bigger chances to sue someone, first because they have more money for lawyers, and second because small foundries are mostly just creatives who want to push curves around, not spend their time at the court. I would think that clients may ask for assurances because their high-end lawyers find a small foundry’s EULA incomplete or something like that. No?
Small players may have terms that are less clear, and the paper trail is more likely to be forgotten. The disputes are smaller, more nuanced and precise. Nobody wants to deal with extra politics, and that's exactly what pushing curves around entails. A small selection of fonts is often quite easy to substitute.
Yes, assurances are important when using a smaller foundry… but I suspect license disputes are a leading cause in the absurd length and number of release forms. When using multiple foundries, there's a lot of paperwork to wade through. Legal teams didn't used to make time for that, unless it was part of a larger contract.
The data kinda shows that we’re safe:
In case you worry about the youngsters only watching youtube:
(Different style, different angle, along these lines though, poetic too.)