<a href="http://openfontlibrary.org/wiki/Font_Licensing#Are_all_fonts_in_the_Public_Domain.3F" rel="nofollow">http://openfontlibrary.org/wiki/Font_Licensing#Are_all_fonts...</a><p>It's not as clear cut as you make out - if you personally redraw the font then you're fine, AFAICT, at least wrt the standard lettering.<p>The OFL link above says that it was considered that the standard alphabet couldn't be copyright. That means that any font use that includes anything beyond the standard alphabet would be copyrightable.<p><a href="http://nwalsh.com/comp.fonts/FAQ/cf_13.htm" rel="nofollow">http://nwalsh.com/comp.fonts/FAQ/cf_13.htm</a> is a bit more certain: If you copy a font file for use online, say, the  typeface is PD (only in the US) but the other parts are still subject to copyright and the actual digital font file is itself copyright.