11.2021 Life Guide
Received a letter from the company's lawyer? Don't panic!
Far eastern New Century Corporation (China) investment / Zhang Peifeng
No matter large enterprises or individual studios, as long as they edit files by computer, they will inevitably use fonts. In recent years, with the rising awareness of copyright, font infringement is common. What should I do if I suddenly receive a lawyer's letter from the font company?
Imagine such a scenario: when you are working wholeheartedly, you suddenly receive a lawyer's letter from a font company asking you to stop using it immediately and pay compensation, otherwise you will have to resort to the court, or choose to pay high licensing fees to settle with them. In fact, Internet font companies often monitor the market, find users, send letters and inform infringement. It is not uncommon to receive such a lawyer's letter. It has even become a major means for some font companies to realize font sales in the name of reconciliation. Therefore, don't panic when you receive a lawyer's letter. Here are six steps to make it easy for you to deal with it!
1、 Is the other party the copyright owner of the font?
First of all, we should consider whether the sender is the copyright owner of the font. We can ask the other party to provide proof of rights, or we can verify it by ourselves through the font use agreement. Of course, in addition to knowing the ownership of the "copyright" of the font, it is sometimes necessary to consider whether the font is a "work of artistic value" recognized by the copyright law. At present, many font companies advocate the copyright of fonts with art works, and the copyright fonts in the market are indeed designed, but there is no obvious difference between some fonts and general fonts. If it is too ordinary and does not have artistic value, it can not be called a work. Of course, there is no copyright and can be used arbitrarily without discussing the ownership of copyright.
2、 Do we use its font?
Font companies usually mention the font used in their letters. However, some prompt letters adopt a common format, only briefly mentioning that "we found that your company has recently used our font in business activities such as products / packaging / website / promotional materials". For such statements, the investigation is undoubtedly time-consuming and laborious. The best way to verify is to find the font company for confirmation, and ask the other party to provide corresponding evidence for verification.
It should be noted that sometimes, we actually use another font, which is just like this font, so we get into trouble. At this time, of course, we have to argue: "we don't use your font, why should we pay for you? Give a reason first!"
3、 Where do the fonts we use come from?
If we do use each other's fonts, we need to know where the fonts come from? Do we pay? If the answer is yes, you should negotiate with the font company. Since commercial use generally includes authorization conditions such as use time, scope, quantity and mode, the focus of negotiation is also concentrated here. Sometimes, when we entrust the advertising company to design the publicity materials, we need to negotiate with the advertising company to know whether the other party has bought this font and what authorization conditions are obtained? Even if the font company eventually needs to pay, it should also consider whether this part of the cost is borne by the advertising company itself.
4、 How do we use fonts?
If we do not buy this font for commercial use, of course, it is suspected of infringement. Stop using it and prepare to pay the bill! However, how to pay also involves the specific situation of use, which needs a preliminary understanding. For example, do we use outdoor advertising, websites, brochures or others? According to the usual judgment thinking, the longer the use time, the larger the scope of use, the more expensive the advertising space, the greater the possibility of profit, and the greater the order to buy. That's why we need to know the details of use.
5、 How much is the font we use?
All the questions about the use have been clarified, and the next is the price. The general judgment thinking takes the legal compensation in the copyright law as the thinking principle, which can be considered as judicial pricing, but the compensation calculation method in the copyright law is in order: the plaintiff's loss, the defendant's profit and legal compensation. Therefore, in the final analysis, the loss of the copyright owner is the basic starting point and foothold of market pricing. In view of this, we can look for the market quotation of this font or similar font as a reference to understand the market price of the font, so as to avoid falling into passivity in price negotiation due to information asymmetry.
6、 What if the font price is not agreed?
In the face of the prompt letter from the font company, many companies will choose to solve the problem through negotiation and talk about business. Even if we think it is not infringement, for the sake of efficiency, reconciliation may not be a good option. Of course, negotiation is a business decision, which must follow the market law, but not every negotiation can achieve a win-win situation. When the market pricing mechanism fails, it means that judicial pricing must be replaced. If we firmly believe that the company's offer deviates from the market pricing, we can only take legal measures to solve it. Stop fighting and stop fighting!
We respect the legitimate rights and interests of copyright owners and actively safeguard our own legitimate rights and interests. I hope the above six steps can make you deal with it calmly when you receive the lawyer's letter from the font company!
Imagine such a scenario: when you are working wholeheartedly, you suddenly receive a lawyer's letter from a font company asking you to stop using it immediately and pay compensation, otherwise you will have to resort to the court, or choose to pay high licensing fees to settle with them. In fact, Internet font companies often monitor the market, find users, send letters and inform infringement. It is not uncommon to receive such a lawyer's letter. It has even become a major means for some font companies to realize font sales in the name of reconciliation. Therefore, don't panic when you receive a lawyer's letter. Here are six steps to make it easy for you to deal with it!
1、 Is the other party the copyright owner of the font?
First of all, we should consider whether the sender is the copyright owner of the font. We can ask the other party to provide proof of rights, or we can verify it by ourselves through the font use agreement. Of course, in addition to knowing the ownership of the "copyright" of the font, it is sometimes necessary to consider whether the font is a "work of artistic value" recognized by the copyright law. At present, many font companies advocate the copyright of fonts with art works, and the copyright fonts in the market are indeed designed, but there is no obvious difference between some fonts and general fonts. If it is too ordinary and does not have artistic value, it can not be called a work. Of course, there is no copyright and can be used arbitrarily without discussing the ownership of copyright.
2、 Do we use its font?
Font companies usually mention the font used in their letters. However, some prompt letters adopt a common format, only briefly mentioning that "we found that your company has recently used our font in business activities such as products / packaging / website / promotional materials". For such statements, the investigation is undoubtedly time-consuming and laborious. The best way to verify is to find the font company for confirmation, and ask the other party to provide corresponding evidence for verification.
It should be noted that sometimes, we actually use another font, which is just like this font, so we get into trouble. At this time, of course, we have to argue: "we don't use your font, why should we pay for you? Give a reason first!"
3、 Where do the fonts we use come from?
If we do use each other's fonts, we need to know where the fonts come from? Do we pay? If the answer is yes, you should negotiate with the font company. Since commercial use generally includes authorization conditions such as use time, scope, quantity and mode, the focus of negotiation is also concentrated here. Sometimes, when we entrust the advertising company to design the publicity materials, we need to negotiate with the advertising company to know whether the other party has bought this font and what authorization conditions are obtained? Even if the font company eventually needs to pay, it should also consider whether this part of the cost is borne by the advertising company itself.
4、 How do we use fonts?
If we do not buy this font for commercial use, of course, it is suspected of infringement. Stop using it and prepare to pay the bill! However, how to pay also involves the specific situation of use, which needs a preliminary understanding. For example, do we use outdoor advertising, websites, brochures or others? According to the usual judgment thinking, the longer the use time, the larger the scope of use, the more expensive the advertising space, the greater the possibility of profit, and the greater the order to buy. That's why we need to know the details of use.
5、 How much is the font we use?
All the questions about the use have been clarified, and the next is the price. The general judgment thinking takes the legal compensation in the copyright law as the thinking principle, which can be considered as judicial pricing, but the compensation calculation method in the copyright law is in order: the plaintiff's loss, the defendant's profit and legal compensation. Therefore, in the final analysis, the loss of the copyright owner is the basic starting point and foothold of market pricing. In view of this, we can look for the market quotation of this font or similar font as a reference to understand the market price of the font, so as to avoid falling into passivity in price negotiation due to information asymmetry.
6、 What if the font price is not agreed?
In the face of the prompt letter from the font company, many companies will choose to solve the problem through negotiation and talk about business. Even if we think it is not infringement, for the sake of efficiency, reconciliation may not be a good option. Of course, negotiation is a business decision, which must follow the market law, but not every negotiation can achieve a win-win situation. When the market pricing mechanism fails, it means that judicial pricing must be replaced. If we firmly believe that the company's offer deviates from the market pricing, we can only take legal measures to solve it. Stop fighting and stop fighting!
We respect the legitimate rights and interests of copyright owners and actively safeguard our own legitimate rights and interests. I hope the above six steps can make you deal with it calmly when you receive the lawyer's letter from the font company!
