[mzmm]

hi all,

i have question here about the legalities of embedding proprietary fonts into ebooks, either mobi or epub (but i like epub better so i'm starting the thread here).

PREAMBLE: i have no motivation or desire to embed proprietary fonts in ebooks, but this is a question i encounter periodically and i've never really come across a satisfactory answer.

i'm aware that Apple supports embedded fonts that have been mangled, but not encrypted. the asset guide has a single line that includes a link to the IDPFs font mangling section, but no information on how what the legal ramifications are.

Adobe Indd (since CS6) auto mangles and encrypts fonts, so that seems like the fonts would remain copy-protected, but again, i haven't been able to find out if this actually does permit one to distribute the ebook legally.

so, the question is this:

if a proprietary font is either mangled or encrypted, or both, is that sufficient to permit one to distribute the ebook?

and to follow up, are there e-readers that are incapable of decrypting or de-mangling(?) that would basically make including them in this way useless anyway?

or are there particularities in the licence of the font itself that would specify the level of encryption legally required to embed the font in an ebook?

thanks in advance!