Many European jurisdictions do not share United States’ approach to “avoid copyright protection of typeface designs” (Edrich, 2005). Among others, the British Copyright, Designs and Patents Act of 1988 “specifically recognizes that typefaces may be copyrightable as ‘artistic works’”. The French Code for Intellectual Property also affords copyright protection to typefaces (Lipton, 2008). Internationally, the subject matter of typeface copyright has gathered enough consideration that it is the subject of a specific international agreement: the Vienna Agreement of 1973 (Groves, 1992). Signed by eleven countries but only ratified by three—France, Germany and the UK—the Vienna Agreement for the Protection of Type Faces and their International Deposit has for mission to standardize laws protecting typeface design and typeface designers worldwide, as well as to “develop effective means to promote the creation of typefaces”. The Vienna Agreement sets the “basic terms and requirements for acquiring copyright protection in member countries” and brings the definition of “what typefaces are” (Edrich, 2005). According to Article 2, a typeface is defined as:
a- “Letters and alphabet with their accessories, such as accents and punctuation marks”
b- “Numerals and other figurative signs, conventional signs, symbols and scientific signs”
c- “Ornaments such as borders, fleurons and vignettes, which are intended to provide means for composing texts by any graphic technique. The term ‘typefaces’ does not include typefaces of a form dictated by purely technical requirements…” (Groves, 1992)
The Canadian Industrial Act grants copyright protection to typeface designers who can specifically ”claim protection for ‘features of shape, configuration, pattern, or ornament and any combination of those features that, in a finished article, appeal to and are judged solely by the eye’” (Edrich, 2005).
Typeface & Piracy | Typeface & Copyright – Pre Digital | Terminology Digital Typeface & Copyright | Opposing views | International Views Other Forms of Protection
Edrich, M. M. (2005). Typeface Protection: An Overview of contemporary Laws Protecting the Works of Typeface and Fonts Designers.
Research Online. Retrieved from: http://www.edrich.us/files/own/ls_Typeface-Protection.pdf
Groves, P.J. (1992). Copyright in digitized typography. Computer Law & Security Report, Volume 8, Issue 3, May-June 1992, Pages 125-129
Lipton, J. D. (2008). To © or not to ©? Copyright and Innovations in the Digital Typeface Industry.
Research Online. Retrieved from: http://works.bepress.com/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1004&context=jacqueline_lipton
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