SOFTWARE COMPLIANCE MUST INCLUDE FONT COMPLIANCEEnsuring that everyone has the computer software that they need to get the job done is vital for every organization.

Computer software is protected as a form of intellectual property, and ensuring that software is legally licensed is the role of IT and management.

A critical point that is often overlooked is that fonts are also covered by various licensing, intellectual property, and in some countries, trademark laws. These protections raise the legal importance of font licenses to that of computer software.

Font Problems Compel ComplianceThough critical to the operation of every computer, fonts are often overlooked during internal software audits. All too often, the risk of noncompliance with font licensing is overlooked, and can manifest itself as a legal, financial as well as public relations nightmare.

Problems with font compliance have led to some prominent legal cases, including:

• WizardingWorldofHarryPotter™sued for $1.5 million in damages as well as destruction of all merchandise created with the font software

• NBCUniversalsuedfor$3.5millionin 2012, and $2.0 million in 2009

• USPresidentialcandidateRickSantorum’sdesign agency sued for $2.0 million in damages

Mitigating the RiskYou can limit these risks by tightly managing your font environment.

• Controlaccesstoyourcollection

• Centrallymanagethefonts available to your entire team, on every desktop

• Preventunlicensedfonts from entering your workflow

• Instituteastrictfontpurchase protocol for tracking and auditing

• Carefullyreadyour font license agreements to understand your rights and restrictions

• Trackfontusagethroughactivityreports

Server-basedfontmanagementsoftwarecanget you well on your way toward managing the fontcomplianceriskinyourorganization.

What’s the Risk?Whilefairlyeasytounderstand,therisksurrounding fonts typically comes from those whodon’treadorrespectthetermsofthelicense. These risks include:

• Introductionofunlicensed,lowquality fontsfromtheInternetcancause computer instability

• Anyuser,anywhereinyourorganization,even outside the creative team, bringing in and or using unlicensed fonts

• Insufficientnumberoflicensesneeded by your team

• Olderfontlicensesdon’tincluderightsformodern digital usage – online, ePub, etc.

• Font“sharing”betweeninternalemployees

• Distributionofcorporatefontstounapproved external resources

• Inadequaterecordkeepingthat breaks the audit trail

Anyorganizationcouldbeatriskwithoutevenrealizingit.Forexample,anyteamthat heavily uses PowerPointTM or other presentation software may inadvertently overlooktheinappropriateuseofnon-systemfonts in presentations.

© 2013 Extensis, a division of Celartem, Inc. This document and the software described in it are copyrighted with all rights reserved. This document or the software described may not be copied, in whole or part, without the written consent of Extensis, except in the normal use of the software, or to make a backup copy of the software. This exception does not allow copies to be made for others. Licensed under U.S. patents issued and pending.

FM-FLY-FontCompliance-20130916 -LTR

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Europe: +44 (0) 1604 654 270

Learn about more mitigating your font compliance risks at www.fontcompliance.com