Do you already know this strange “distributor”?
Every user is incentivated to upload fonts to obtain credits to download other fonts.
I don't believe some of you authorized this kind of “distribution” in this way but if you looking for one of your fonts you’ll see it on the results of your search.
Take a look at
https://en.fontke.com/
How we can stop something like that?
Comments
You of course know me well enough to correctly guess that I have a “strict” definition of DRM. That is, embedding bits or any other metadata in the font do not quite qualify. Sticking the licensee’s name and/or a serial number in the font is not DRM in my usage of the term.
However “entering a serial number on installation (so the font could limit the number of installs)” would certainly be DRM even under a strict definition, would require more infrastructure, and be potentially problematic. Fonts can and do last for decades.
I recently moved to a new computer… in your world would I need to re-enter serial numbers for all my fonts, as I must for some apps? (Thankfully only a few needed such re-authorization—but it was a major element of the migration pain.)
Eh, same amount of work. What if my old computer died and I *can’t* deactivate it?
Anyway, it is still a DRM scheme. It imposes extra hassles. Most retail desktop software already does this in varying degrees. Regardless of my own preferences, I don’t think it will happen again for fonts. It is WAY too much work to create and support, and the font biz does not have the money/importance to get the other required players to buy in to it. Especially when some of them (e.g. Google, Mozilla) are pretty much ideologically opposed to DRM and especially font DRM.
My understanding is that TPM 2.0 can act as a collection of virtual dongles, if you’ve ever had a software app that required a hardware dongle to run. (I want to say Kaasila’s old Visual TypeMan did something like that.)
It is interesting how many forensic cases I have been approached about or involved in, which had some connection to Cyprus.
Anyway, sorry for that, I'll read the rules again.