Monotype Joins Fight Against Unlicensed Fonts

Monotype Imaging has joined the Business Software Alliance as a worldwide member educating organisations on font licensing and compliance.

Monotype Imaging has joined the Business Software Alliance as a worldwide member educating organisations on font licensing and compliance.

The company is a global provider of text imaging solutions and the Business Software Alliance is the software industry trade association dedicated to promoting and defending the value of business software as intellectual property.

Last year, BSA discovered US$100,000 worth of unlicensed fonts during an investigation in to Campden Publishing, a UK publisher with 60 employees.

BSA worked to correct the issue with Campden Publishing's new management team and Monotype Imaging's UK subsidiary, then a local member of BSA.

Monotype Imaging will participate on BSA's policy and regional committees with other software suppliers.

To communicate the technological, security, legal and financial risks of font software non-compliance, Monotype Imaging plans to work with BSA on education and enforcement campaigns.

David DeWitt, vice president of Monotype Imaging's creative professional group, said: "Every day countless fonts enable communication - on computers, mobile phones, and in print.

We see fonts everywhere we look but they're often overlooked as software assets that need to be licensed and managed.

We're joining BSA to tackle the font piracy problem by educating organisations about the need to ensure correct font licensing compliance through effective font software asset management." Monotype Imaging's font audits have shown that a small business typically has an average of 300 unlicensed typefaces on each computer.

To help organisations address font compliance, Monotype Imaging has developed the Fontwise system, a suite of tools and services that is claimed to enable users to audit and manage font licenses quickly and accurately.

"The key issue is that IT management is not aware of font licensing terms and does not realise that even operating systems and applications with pre-loaded fonts need to be managed to ensure they are not redistributed illegally," DeWitt said.

He continued: "This is an issue not only for creative agencies but also for all organisations that use fonts in marketing material and send files and fonts to third parties, such as printers or colleagues in another location.

Many companies rely on specific typefaces for their corporate identities.

If typefaces are not licensed correctly, brands can be at risk from legal action by the font publisher." Robert Holleyman, president and chief executive officer of the Business Software Alliance, commented: "It is essential that organisations realise the importance of protecting all the intellectual property that enables them to conduct their business, including font software.

We welcome Monotype Imaging as a member and look forward to the company's participation in BSA's enforcement, education and policy programmes around the globe.".

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