Many companies have received negotiation or demand letters from font companies, alleging unauthorized use of their fonts in social media, websites, brochures, and other commercial promotional materials. These letters often demand that the company purchase a license to avoid infringement liability. Font rights holders typically send such letters selectively after identifying certain usage patterns. Upon receiving such letters, companies should take them seriously, conduct internal investigations promptly, and choose appropriate solutions to avoid potential legal disputes and counteract "coercive transactions." Additionally, companies should opt for safe fonts in their daily promotions to avoid unauthorized use of third-party fonts. Based on years of experience handling related cases for numerous domestic and international companies, we have analyzed and summarized the following points.
1. Verify the Basis of Rights and Identity of the Sender
Upon receiving a negotiation or demand letter, a company should first confirm whether the font company holds the copyright it claims, including the software copyright for the font library and the artistic work copyright for individual characters. If the sender is not the direct copyright holder, the completeness and credibility of their authorization chain need to be verified. Typically, documents proving the basis of font rights include:
Through these steps, a company can fully verify the sender's rights basis and identity, ensuring sufficient legal grounds and negotiation leverage when responding to font copyright challenges.
Verify the Source of Alleged Infringing Fonts: Font companies usually specify the suspected infringing use of fonts in their letters, such as specific articles on public accounts or sections of a company website. Upon receiving such letters, the company should immediately verify whether the alleged usage is accurate, for example:
Preserve Evidence: During verification, save all relevant evidence, including screenshots, log records, contracts, etc., for future use.
Internal Verification: Check internally if there is any record of purchasing or obtaining authorization for the font.
Third-Party Supplier Verification: If the relevant materials were provided by a third-party supplier, contact the supplier to confirm whether they purchased the font and the scope of authorization.
Through these steps, a company can fully verify the nature of the alleged infringing use, ensuring sufficient legal and factual basis when responding to font companies.
If an internal investigation confirms no infringement, the company should promptly respond to the font company, condemning any suspected abuse of rights to deter the company from similar actions in the short term.
If unauthorized use is confirmed, or the usage status cannot be verified, the company should take appropriate measures based on the specific situation. The company can negotiate with the font company to reach a settlement and avoid further legal disputes. Specific negotiation strategies may include:
Through these strategies, a company can effectively respond to font copyright challenges, ensuring its legal rights are protected while avoiding unnecessary legal disputes.
Given the increasing emphasis on intellectual property protection and evolving enforcement strategies of font companies, companies should pay attention to font usage compliance in promotional materials and choose safe fonts. Many commonly used fonts in office tools, such as Microsoft YaHei, DengXian are not free for commercial use.
Some font companies offer "free" fonts on their official websites; however, "free" may not mean "free for commercial use" or "permanently free." Therefore, it is recommended that companies take the following steps to verify the "safety" of font usage:
1. Confirm Font Ownership: Check the copyright owner of the font via the copyright registration system to ensure clear ownership information.
2. Verify the Validity of "Free" Promises: Check the official website’s ICP filing information to confirm that the filing entity matches the font company, ensuring the authenticity and reliability of the "free" promise.
3. Confirm Authorization Conditions: After verifying the font ownership and "free" promise, carefully read the font’s authorization terms, focusing on:
By following these steps, a company can effectively verify the "safety" of font usage, ensuring legal use in promotional materials and avoiding legal disputes due to font infringement issues.
With the rapid development of AI technology, some font companies have begun exploring the integration of AI in font design and generation. Although AI applications in the font field are still in their infancy, we may soon see a large number of AI-generated fonts. This will raise a series of new legal issues, such as:
1. Copyright Ownership:
2. Legal Protection:
3. Market Impact:
If AI-generated fonts can be used safely, it will be a disruptive change for font supply and demand. I will continue to closely monitor developments in this field, track the latest trends in AI in font design, and provide timely guidance to clients to adjust strategies and address potential new challenges and opportunities.