6.3 KiB
Re: Proprietary Font Usage at https://github.com/kexuejin/iFont/
To Whom It May Concern:
This office represents The Monotype Corporation, Monotype Imaging Inc., Monotype GmbH, Monotype ITC Inc., MyFonts Inc., and Microsoft Corporation in this matter. Our clients own the licensing rights and trademarks in the computer programs that generate digital typeface designs, commonly referred to as fonts, which are licensed to be deployed and embedded in an expansive range of electronic devices, software applications and operating systems.
Fonts are protected in several ways. First, individual font programs are identified by trademarks, many of which are registered with the United States Patent and Trademark Ofiice and foreign trademark offices. Second, font software programs are "computer programs" and as such are protected from unlicensed copying by the United States Copyright Act of 1976, as amended. Third, more recent typeface designs are protected under the digital rights legislation in the Eurpope Union and numerous countries. Finally, the extent and type of use of fonts is controlled by the terms of license agreements granted by font companies.
Github is hereby requested to remove the above-referenced URL and its contents for the following reasons:
Copyright Violation and Misattribution of Copyright Ownership. A project entitled iFont, which is hosted at GitHub at the URL https://github.com/kexuejin/iFont/, makes available several files that include font software that has been modified in such a way as to wrongfully attribute copyright ownership of certain font software to our clients. Attached as Exhibit A is a list of font software programs (and their respective download links) for which the copyright string has been modified to attribute ownership to our clients.
To illustrate the issue, the APK file named d2a80879bc973e3586f120d85ddf2852.apk, available for download at the following URL:
https://raw.github.com/kexuejin/iFont/master/font/d2a80879bc973e3586f120d85ddf2852.apk
contains a font software program named MetalLord.ttf. Metal Lord was designed in 1996 by Ray Larabie of the font foundry Typodermic Fonts. The copyright setting contained within the Metal Lord font software metadata, as sourced from MyFonts.com, a client and an authorized vendor, reads:
(c) 1996-2012 Typodermic Fonts Inc. See attached license agreement. If agreement is missing visit typodermicfonts.com for more info. This font is part of the Larabie Fonts collection from Typodermic Fonts
The copyright string for Metal Lord as included in the APK hosted on GitHub has been modified to read:
Copyright 1989, 2001 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All Rights Reserved, Monotype Imaging Inc.
This information is false. These fonts were not created in 1989, Adobe Systems Incorporated did not create this font and does not claim a copyright in the font, and Monotype Imaging Inc. has no interest in or rights to the font. Finally, Metal Lord is distributed under the Typodermic Fonts Inc. End User License Agreement, which states (emphasis added):
2. Copyright
2.1: You have not bought the fonts: you are licensed to use them, by the terms and conditions of this agreement. **Typodermic Fonts Inc. retains title and all copyrights to the fonts,** and all copies and adaptations thereof in whatever media. The Fonts are intellectual property, containing proprietary information and valuable trade secrets, as as such they are protected by the copyright laws of many nations, and by international treaties. You may not copy the Fonts, except as specified in this agreement.
By stripping out the copyright information and replacing it with clearly false information, iFont's project administrator has violated the license under which Metal Lord is distributed.
False copyright marking is a criminal violation of Section 506(c) of the Copyright Act of 1976, 17 U.S.C §506(c), which reads as follows:
Any person who, with fraudulent intent, places on any article a notice of copyright or words of the same purport that such person knows to be false, or who, with fraudulent intent, publicly distributes or imports for public distribution any article bearing such notice or words that such person knows to be false, shall be fined not more than $2,500.
Digital Certificate Impersonation Each of the files located in the directory https://github.com/kexuejin/iFont/tree/master/font is an APK file, and as such contains a digital certificate in a file called CERT.RSA. This certificate is used to identify the entity that has signed the APK. The certificates bundled into iFont's APKs are falsely signed with the digital signature that Monotype Imaging uses to identify itself as the creator of FlipFont® android applications. Exhibit "B" to this letter is a compilation of two screenshots which shows the genuine digital signature (outlined in red) showing Monotype Imaging as the creator and owner of a font. The digital signature outlined in yellow is a false signature incorporated into a font which is neither owned nor created by Monotype Imaging. The false signature also perpetrates a fraud on Mr. [private], an employee of Monotype Imaging, who is falsely identified as being associated with font software to which he has no connection.
I have a good faith belief that use of the copyrighted materials described above is not authorized by the copyright owner, or its agent, or the law.
I swear, under penalty of perjury, that the information in this notification is accurate and that I am authorized to act on behalf of Monotype Imaging Inc., the party whose name has been falsely attributed as having an ownership interest in the above-referenced files and whose rights under the Copyright Act are thereby infringed.
Pursuant to this notification, your are requested to take steps to locate and removed any font software that has been modified to attribute ownership to our client where our client asserts no such claim. In this regard, Mr. [private] of our office is willing to assist with the identification of the infringing software. He can be contacted at [private] or via email at [private]. You should be aware that the software of which we are complaining was previously located in repositories at sourceforge.net and www.code.google.com. Both of these sites have removed the software.
Thank you for your cooperation in this matter.
Very truly yours,
[private]