Font protection schemes

Jonathan Hoefler has raised a further point to this discussion, in e-mail,
which concerns protection of custom and corporate lettering and typefaces. A
good deal of type designers a large portion of their income designing custom
alphabets, logotypes, signage schemes, etc. for corporate clients of various
sizes. A lot of this work tends to be for internationally based clientele,
many of whom have or will be developing extensive 'Net presence'. Companies
that commission custom typeface work are making an investment in an
exclusive aesthetic expression, an investment which they have a right to
protect. If font security is discarded in favour of ease-of-use, document
interchange, embedding, etc., companies making use of custom, proprietory
fonts on their websites and in electronic documents will be putting their
investment at risk. This puts type designers in the uncomfortable position
of explaining to their clients that the typeface they have just invested
thousands of dollars in cannot be technically protected from piracy and
that, if they want to protect their property, they can expect further major
investment in legal fees, monitoring costs, etc..

This is another reason why I believe it is imperative that security issues
are addressed and solved BEFORE embedding schemes are implemented.

John Hudson, Type Director

Tiro TypeWorks
Vancouver, BC
tiro@portal.ca
http://www.portal.ca/~tiro

Received on Friday, 9 August 1996 16:27:32 UTC