Fonts seen on screens or passed through the internet are not subject to copyright, but a font design strategy plan is. Font components, software programs, and outline font editors are protected by copyright. End User License Agreements (EULAs) are recommended, but not consistently recognized. Design patents can be used as an alternative to copyright. International copyright conventions have made copyright more accessible, but local laws still apply.
Most countries follow copyright regulation which states that a font seen on a screen or passed through the Internet is not an artistic creation and therefore not subject to copyright. A font design strategy plan, however, is considered artistic and is copyrighted. Therefore, to protect a font, an author must preserve its layers, or ingredients, in a software program. Font writing software programs and outline font editors, or the mathematical codes that determine the shape and nature of a character, are considered creative works and as such are protected by copyright. By copyrighting the components of a font, the author would eventually copyright a font by default.
A software program or outline font editor that is sold or distributed may be protected with a license. Most font authors use an End User License Agreement (EULA). This is a document written by the author that defines the rights and limitations of the user. Although a EULA is a self-written document, it is recommended that you consult a lawyer to ensure that the language used fully protects the author’s rights. Additionally, a EULA may be recognized in its country of origin, but regulations may differ across international borders and EULAs are not recognized consistently.
While copyrights are the most commonly used versions of protection, they are also the most vague. Some countries may allow a font or typeface to be protected by a design patent rather than a copyright. A design patent is a useful, often powerful alternative when a font cannot be protected with copyright. Many countries consider a work to be protected by a design patent from the moment it is created or when it is registered with the appropriate government office. For example, works created within member countries of the European Union are automatically protected by design patents for the first three years of their existence; the design patent can be extended for another 25 years by registration.
In recent years, two international copyright conventions have made copyright more accessible to people around the world. These are the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works (Berne Convention) and the Universal Copyright Convention (UCC). Under the Berne Convention, authors who are nationals or domiciles of a member country, or who published works in member countries initially or within 30 days of first publication, can apply for protection under both the Berne Convention and the UCC. The UCC specifically allows any formality in a member country’s copyright laws to be satisfied by the copyright sign.
International treaties have helped improve national copyright laws in individual member countries. However, they do not override the local law of the creator. When trying to protect a font, it’s important to know the copyright laws of the host country and the international agreements that apply to it.
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