Can You Trademark A Font? Navigating The Intellectual Property Landscape

Every professional graphic designer understands how painstaking the font designing process can be. Indeed, it takes a great deal of effort to create a unique font that you can apply to your personal design projects or offer via a reputable font foundry. So, having put in all your blood, sweat, and tears to come up with an original font, it’s natural to start wondering whether you can trademark your works. But is it possible to trademark a font? Before we offer a comprehensive answer to that question, it would be best to start by clearing a few terms.

What Is A Font?

The words “font” and “typeface” are often used interchangeably. But technically, they do not exactly denote the same thing. A typeface refers to a set of characters whose forms are related by virtue of repeating certain design elements which have been consistently applied. In other words, a typeface denotes the way characters appear in a text, be it on a hardcover surface or digital media. These characters can include one or a combination of alphabetical letters, numerals, punctuation marks, and other special elements like currency symbols, mathematical operators, percentages, etc. Examples of common typefaces include Verdana, Times New Roman, Arial, and Calibri. So, what most people call a font is actually a typeface, and that’s what this article is truly about. On the other hand, a font refers to a computer program that determines how specific characters are displayed on a computer screen or printer. Therefore, fonts only exist as software products. But since the word “font” has been widely accepted to mean the same thing as “typeface,” we’ll not get into the technicalities of both terms. Instead, we’ll also use them interchangeably as is often the norm.

What’s The Difference Between a Trademark and a Copyright?

  The words “trademark” and “copyright” have also been a subject of confusion for years. Adding to that mix of confusion is the word “patent.” However, these three terms have distinct meanings. A copyright is a type of intellectual property that protects original work. Most copyrights protect artistic works, such as songs, paintings, photographs, books, articles, and motion pictures. Copyrights are automatically generated upon the creation of original works. On the other hand, a trademark is a type of intellectual property that protects products that identify and distinguish one company or business from another. Most trademarks protect words, phrases, or designs, such as company logos, taglines, and value propositions. Unlike copyrights that are auto-generated upon the release of original works, trademarks are established via common use. Lastly, patents are a type of intellectual property that protect inventions. These inventions can include machinery, mathematical formulas, industrial processes, and scientific discoveries. Copyrights, trademarks, and patents may also differ in the duration of protection. Copyrights will protect the rights to a product throughout the author’s life plus another 70 years, while trademarks offer protection for the duration the product will be commercially used. Lastly, patents generally protect an invention for up to 20 years.

So, Can You Trademark A Font?

Now that you understand the dynamics of trademarking, it’s easier to determine whether you can trademark a font or not. And as you might have guessed, you cannot trademark a font. That’s because a font doesn’t necessarily distinguish an individual or business from another. It also doesn’t fall within any of the major categories of products commonly trademarked, including words, phrases, and graphic designs. But the main reason you cannot trademark a typeface is that typefaces are considered specific products. Not that trademarks do not protect specific products but rather the manner in which those products are branded and portrayed to the intended users. Besides, a font is merely a variation of characters, and characters are generally un-trademarkable as they cannot be traced back to an original owner…

…But There Are Some Exceptions

While it’s generally difficult to trademark a typeface, there are exceptions to that rule. First, you can trademark a typeface if the font is accompanied by trademarkable features like words, phrases, and graphic elements. A classic example is Walt Disney’s iconic handwriting, which is considered a distinct typeface. The font is trademarked as it appears alongside the company’s official logo, which is an original work of art. It’s also worth noting that you can trademark the name of a font. For instance, the Times New Roman is a protected name registered by The Monotype Corporation in 1985. But in this case, Monotype can only lay claim to the font’s name and not its underlying design. In other words, anyone can create a typeface that looks a lot similar to Times New Roman and assign it a different name. However, trademark laws prevent the usage of the “Times New Roman” name for another font despite how different that typeface may be from the original Times New Roman font. Lastly, you can copyright the computer software program used in creating or using the digital versions of a typeface. But this protection only covers the source code that creates the font’s digital versions and not the final typeface.

Final Word

It’s impossible to trademark a font unless the typeface includes trademarkable features, such as company names and logos. You can, however, trademark a font’s name. It’s also worth noting that trademark laws differ from one country to another. For instance, copyright laws in countries like the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Germany offer some protection for typefaces. Each country specifies a period during which a font will enjoy protection from its initial date of publication. When that period lapses, the font designer may pay to prolong their typeface’s copyright status or simply surrender the font for free public usage. Other countries like Switzerland and Russia have no clear laws spelling out the protection of typefaces.