Q: WHAT IS "TRYWARE"?

A: This is my way of allowing you to sample a dingbat prior to purchase.

Please remember that each creator of any font and/or dingbat will specify their individual terms. An author may specify their work is Freeware, Shareware, Linkware, Commercial, Public Domain or whatever else they wish to term it. No matter what it is called, it is important to read any text file, if one exists, that is attached to the font/dingbat and abide by the author's terms of use. If no text file exists and you downloaded the font/dingbat from a "free" archive, it is better to play it safe by attempting to contact the author if at all possible. Otherwise, DO NOT use the font/dingbat for anything other than your own personal use. If the original terms were commercial or shareware, etc., you will be opening yourself up for legal ramifications.

Q: IS TRYWARE THE SAME AS FREEWARE?

A: No. My tryware versions are just that, to try. You may use them for your personal endeavors only. If used for financial gain, you MUST purchase a license.

Q: HOW DO YOU MAKE YOUR DINGBATS?

A: My dingbats are all original...no scanned images here. I draw them in Painter or Paint Shop Pro and generate the font in Fontographer.

Q: I HAVE A FONT/DINGBAT ARCHIVE SITE. MAY I INCLUDE YOUR DINGBATS?

A: My dingbats MAY NOT be redistributed or included in any archive, whether it be on-line or a CD collection without my permission. Please contact me before attempting to redistribute my work.

Q: I WANT TO MAKE DINGBATS BUT I DON'T KNOW HOW TO START. MAY I COPY YOURS?

A: NO! Under no circumstances are my dingbats to be modified and/or regenerated to create new fonts. By modifying, even slightly, the vector shapes of any dingbat or font you are infringing on the copyright of the original creator. As a matter of fact, it is plagiarism.

A good example of this would be if you read a wonderful book and thought "Gee, I could write that". So you go ahead and change some wording, renamed it and had it published under your name. You know that is blatant plagiarism. The act of regenerating an original dingbat or font should not be any different.

Q: AM I ALLOWED TO USE YOUR DINGBATS TO CREATE NOZZLES, TUBES OR BRUSHES?

A: You may use my dingbats to create whatever you please as long as they are for your personal use. You may NOT use my dingbats to create anything for which you will receive monetary gain unless a license has been purchased.

Each creator's terms are different as to how their work may be used. Be sure to read any text file included with the font/dingbat.

Q: ARE FONTS AND DINGBATS PROTECTED BY COPYRIGHT LAWS?

A: While I was researching the copyright laws regarding typography, I ran across opposing view points on this issue. To clarify my understanding of the law when it comes to protection of fonts and/or dingbats, I contacted Rebeca Delgado-Martinez Valette, Esq., an attorney who is the author and webmistress of What is Copyright? In her response she sets forth 2 main points very precisely.

" Fonts and dingbats are protected just as much as graphics, text or any other form of artistic expression."
" I firmly believe that anyone who uses a font or dingbat to create a new one without permission from the original owner is definitely committing copyright infringement. Fonts and dingbats are automatically protected by a copyright, there is no doubt about that."

The opinions set forth by Rebeca are based on international copyright laws as set forth by the Berne Convention in order to provide this information to the entire internet community. United States law regarding copyright of fonts is still a hotly debated issue but not all authors and users of typography are residents of the United States.

To sum up, this quote from Rebeca puts this issue into perspective:

"I think that the reason why any debate exists at all is because copyright protection covers only ORIGINAL works...the debate lies in the creative process used to make a font. If I scan a Dover Clipart image and make it into a font...humm..is that copyrightable? Heck no. If I make a font of my own handwriting or a point by point drawn letter...is that copyrightable? You betcha."

With her permission, I have quoted excerpts of her original response to me which makes copyright issues regarding typography (fonts/dingbats) clear and concise.

Q: I STILL HAVE QUESTIONS, SO NOW WHAT?

A: You can contact me by e-mail or, if I am on-line, here.