Allan Haley — Graphic Arts Online, December 1, 2009

A $2 million suit against NBC over three fonts is a reality check on managing licenses.

This high-profile case cast a spotlight on what has become a systemic problem of misuse of font intellectual property. The good news is that if you are unsure of the legal standing of your font licenses, one of the best first steps toward straightening things out is to call your font provider—especially if it is a large distributor of fonts. An account manager can help you determine which of your fonts are under-licensed, as well as whether some are over-licensed. Then he or she can set up a plan to bring your font collection into compliance.

All businesses can benefit significantly by respecting the role that font software plays. Free, downloadable font counting tools, such as Fontwise Fontcheck, are available to help discover the number of fonts resident on computers. These tools will guide you in determining whether or not your company needs to conduct a full font audit.

In addition to doing your own troubleshooting, the following “Golden Rules of Font Licensing” are geared to promote font software licensing awareness. While these guidelines do not constitute legal advice, they provide a quick reference point for font use that may be useful to route internally:

1. Font software is licensed, not purchased. You license font software for limited use from the type designer or font software publisher that supplies it.
2. The license is granted in the form of an End User License Agreement (EULA) according to the number of computers the font software is installed on. Licensing terms vary depending on the font publisher, so check carefully what you have agreed to.
3. Most font software EULAs do not allow you to make copies of, or distribute font software to other organizations or individuals who do not have their own license to use it. This, for example, includes service bureaus, design agencies, public relations companies, advertising agencies and printing companies. In summary, anyone using font software must have a license for it.
4. Most font publishers allow users to embed font software into documents, but only for previewing and printing. Licensing terms are also starting to include provisions for Web use, so check licensing terms thoroughly.
5. Most font software publishers will allow users to create static images from font software (such as a GIF file used as a Web banner).
6. Most font software publishers will not allow their software to be modified in any way without permission from the publisher.
7. Your company will be liable if you lend or give font software to others to use without a license.

If you have any doubts about your company’s licensing position, please, make a point of contacting your font supplier or publisher.

Reprinted from Graphic Arts Online

Great article and video on the IPhone Pantone application

http://db.tidbits.com/article/10574

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

CARLSTADT, N.J. – Over the last several years there has been a fundamental shift in the way designers work – projects have become more digital, and inspiration more spontaneous. Pantone LLC, an X-Rite company and the global authority on color and provider of professional color standards for the design industries, today announced myPANTONE, an iPhone application for the changing needs of today’s designer. myPANTONE gives graphic, digital, multimedia, fashion, interior and industrial designers the freedom to capture, create and share PANTONE Color Palettes – wherever they go and whenever they find inspiration.

“myPANTONE marries the power of the iPhone with the inspiration of PANTONE Color Palettes, enabling designers to be creative whenever inspiration strikes them. Providing a digital, portable design studio and essential color tools at their fingertips, myPANTONE gives designers the freedom to access PANTONE Colors anywhere, without the need to be in their office or carry around cumbersome guides,” said Andy Hatkoff, vice president of technology licensing for Pantone. “Now with myPANTONE’s Portable Color Memory in their pocket, designers no longer need to agonize trying to recall an exact color.”

With myPANTONE, designers have access to all the PANTONE Color Libraries, including the PANTONE MATCHING SYSTEM for coated, uncoated and matte stock; the PANTONE Goe System for coated and uncoated stock; PANTONE PASTELS for coated and uncoated stock; and the PANTONE FASHION + HOME SMART Color System. The application also enables designers to easily create harmonious color palettes by finding complementary, analogous and triadic combinations for selected colors.

myPANTONE takes advantage of the iPhone’s built-in camera to let designers capture whatever inspires them – from architecture and street scenes to fashion and nature. Colors can be extracted from any photo on the iPhone and then matched to the closest PANTONE Colors.

Once created, users can share color palettes with other iPhone users and automatically post notification of new palettes to Facebook and Twitter, attaching text notes and voice annotations to palettes when posting. Color palettes can be emailed to colleagues and clients as color patches, or as application-ready swatch files for use in design applications including Adobe Creative Suite (.ase), CorelDraw and QuarkXPress. Designers can also share their color palettes with other designers by sending them to the Pantone-hosted Web site, www.mypantone.com.

Each color swatch in myPANTONE includes sRGB, HTML and L*a*b* values. Additionally, myPANTONE provides invaluable cross-referencing color capabilities to make it simple for users to find similar colors among the various PANTONE Color Libraries. For example, users can identify the PANTONE Goe Color that most closely matches a given PANTONE MATCHING SYSTEM Color.

Pricing, Availability and System Information
myPANTONE is available for download at the Apple iPhone App Store for U.S. $9.99/€7.99/£6.99. myPANTONE is compatible with iPhone OS 3.0 or higher, and can be used on the iPhone or iPod Touch.

Reprinted from Whattheythink.com

Neenah paper has created a new on-line service for those that are afraid of committing to one stock. Visit http://www.neenahpaper.com/DoYouLoveLinen/, upload your image and they will send your a custom sample right to your door.

There is a great exhibit going on now through January 2010 at the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum in NYC. This exhibit showcases different items created using sustainable material.

http://www.nature.org/design/?src=spl4