Copying of software casually among coworkers isn't unusual, but it can have serious consequences. While most companies are usually careful about licensing software like Adobe's Creative Suite for each computer it's installed on, they may be less careful about fonts, though they often come with similar license restrictions. NBC and CNBC may find out the consequences of such copying the hard way, after being sued by digital type foundry The Font Bureau.
According to a complaint filed in federal court last week, both NBC and CNBC have been using Antenna, Interstate, and Bureau Grotesque typefaces for various TV shows and station promotions both on TV and online. Though NBC bought and paid for a license for the typefaces, the network only paid for a license to install the fonts on a single computer. The Font Bureau alleges that NBC copied the fonts to more than one computer, running afoul of the license that the company paid for.
Even worse, The Font Bureau believes that NBC has given copies of the fonts in question to unspecified third parties. Distributing the fonts to third partied in this manner is definitely a no-no, and led The Font Bureau to add claims of trademark infringement on top of the copyright infringement claims. Contributory copyright infringement, breach of contract, unfair competition, and violations of New York's general business law round out the list of claims against both networks. The Font Bureau is asking for various damages to be awarded at trial, but believes the value to be "not less than $2 million."
The Font Bureau was formed in 1989 by renowned typographer David Berlow and graphic designer Roger Black, and has designed typefaces for the Chicago Tribune, The Wall Street Journal, Entertainment Weekly, Newsweek, Esquire, Rolling Stone, Hewlett Packard and others, along with OEM work for Apple and Microsoft. Typeface licensing to large corporations is one of the more lucrative sources of revenue for type foundries, and NBC violating its license and sharing the typefaces with other companies makes it harder for The Font Bureau to negotiate licensing deals for its typefaces with other companies.
Concerns of rampant piracy and copying have made many type foundries wary of licensing their typefaces for use on the Web. Berlow himself has called on adding a permissions table to OpenType fonts, though font browser vendors have shown little interest in implementing support for it. If The Font Bureau's allegations prove true, though, it could fuel some foundries' cries for some type of DRM for online—or perhaps even offline—type.
Further reading:
- Cityfile posted a PDF of the original complaint on Scribd.
- If you have PACER access, you can follow the case by searching the Eastern District of New York for case #1:09-cv-04286-SLT, The Font Bureau, Inc. v. NBC Universal, Inc. et al.
- You can see samples of Antenna, Bureau Grot, and Interstate and compare them to the type used on various sections of nbc.com and cnbc.com.
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