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I would like to modify a couple fonts already available on iOS -- for instance, Helvetica Neue -- to use a different line height, and then include these modified fonts in my application bundle. Nevermind why -- let's just say I need to use them in a UITextView, so modifying the appearance with CSS is impossible.

Would Apple reject an app for bundling a modified version of one of these fonts? Would it violate copyright in some way, or perhaps an Apple guideline for developers?

This is not a programming question per se, so I hope no one is offended that I have asked it here -- I did not know of a better place in the StackExchange universe.

Felix Kling
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Steve Cotner
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1 Answers1

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It would be a copyright violation.

StilesCrisis
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  • This is from ITC: "Typeface designs are made up of digital data – data that is protected by U.S. copyright law. Court rulings have made it clear that it’s illegal to modify or copy the digital data of typefaces and resell them." But in this case you're not selling the font, and the font was already present. The change adds value in the current use but doesn't compete economically in any way nor interfere with the brand perception of the font (line-heights are changed often via CSS. Doing it in the font file is unnoticeable for the end user). I don't see why it should really violate copyright. – Steve Cotner Mar 19 '12 at 07:10
  • But the most material question is whether Apple would reject it. So if Apple views it as a copyright infringement, that's what I'm looking to hear, if anyone knows this from experience or a reliable source. – Steve Cotner Mar 19 '12 at 07:14
  • I'm advancing in the other direction. The following question didn't help me before, but it now explains how to subclass UITextView to change line height, thanks to a recent answer by user1172004 explaining that you also need to define a category on UITextView (within your subclass's implementation file): http://stackoverflow.com/questions/3760924/set-line-height-in-uitextview – Steve Cotner Mar 19 '12 at 07:32