Hello,
The ePub format supports - as you may know - the CSS2 @font-face, but Adobe's fonts aren't directly embeddable that rule.
At the moment, there are not FAQs or license terms specifically written for ePub (or other kind of ebook formats) so I'm going to refer to the currently available documents I found on the web.
A Typblography blog post (http://blogs.adobe.com/typblography/2010/10/web-font-licensing.html) clearly describes the difference Adobe sets between "embedding" and "serving" a font.
Epub format - unfortunately - lies in a sort of no man's land, because it is a zipped container of browsable documents (xhtml files, stylesheets, images, fonts), so it can be considered a self-contained and portable document, but at the same time, it doesn't protect the fonts from unauthorized use.
Also the Adobe Font Licensing FAQs (http://www.adobe.com/aboutadobe/antipiracy/ff_faq.html) partially clarify the field of discussion.
The Adobe's proprietary font obfuscation feature, supported by Adobe Digital Editions, can be easily overridden with few lines of python code.
Adobe doesn't allow for @font-face embedding but let authors access to use its fonts via specialized web font services such as Typekit.com which can't be used by ePubs because of its offline nature.
My questions are:
- Can I use an Adobe licensed font (i.e. Minion Pro) in an ePub ebook using @font-face?
- What kind of license or agreement should be used?
- Is there a dedicated contact for licensing-related issues (the font-licensing@adobe.com address just bounces back)?
Indeed, I can already download some ePubs featuring the Minion Pro typeface. I.e: "Il fu Mattia Pascal" edited by Mondadori (the most important italian publishing company) and freely downloadable from the LaFeltrinelli store (http://www.lafeltrinelli.it/products/9788852013089/Il_fu_Mattia_Pascal /Luigi_Pirandello.html).
That makes me confident that an arrangement is possible, isn't it?
I hope to hear soon from you, as I'm writing also on behalf of some others italian ebook designers.
Thank you,
Matteo Balocco