Many designers produce their work by using unique fonts (typography) to convey messages in their work. Font selection aims to attract the attention of people who see their works. Some products or brands, use unique fonts so that people may quickly remember the logo. A designer usually looks for fonts on the Internet, then they visit a website providing a variety of fonts. However, what is usually not considered when choosing the desired font is the status of the fonts,.
There are various kinds of font designation status, some are free for personal and commercial use, some are only free for personal use but you have to pay if you wish to utilise them for commercial reasons. Designers should pay more attention to this so as not to violate copyright.
Referring to Article 40 letter (S) of Law no. 28 of 2014 concerning Copyright (UUHC), Fonts are included in protected copyrighted works. Fonts can be categorized as computer programs, because of their use in the digital world which is then aplied to electronic writing. The use of fonts obtained or downloaded from the website is adjusted to the status of their designation. The status of the font designation applies like a license agreement between the downloader and the creator.
In this case, if we get the font from a paid application, and we get it officially, then we can use it for commercial purposes. But if we use fonts from applications that we don’t get officially, especially without permission, this is where the problem starts.
According to Article 80 UUHC, licensing is a right owned by the creator and copyright holder. For other parties who wish to exercise the economic rights of a work, they must obtain a license (written permission) from the creator or copyright holder.
One site that provides fonts is www.dafont.com, this site provides the option to download a font for free if you use it personally, but you must donate funds to the font creator if you want to use it for commercial purposes.
However, there are still many designers who still use fonts that are not designated for commercial use for their work. Designers can be sued for compensation by the creator and copyright holder of the font, can also be subject to criminal sanctions, in accordance with Article 113 UUHC, violations of commercial economic rights can be punished with imprisonment for a maximum of 1 (one) year and/or a fine of a maximum of Rp. 100,000,000 (one hundred million rupiah).
Am Badar & Am Badar as Intellectual Property consultants in Indonesia, have helped many clients both at home and abroad in guaranteeing Intellectual Property rights in Indonesia. Do not hesitate to contact us at marketing@ambadar.co.id if you have further questions regarding Intellectual Property. Our experienced consultants will be happy to assist you.