I got a question in email that I figured I'd answer here on the list, since some
other folks may be wondering the same thing. The question boils down to: When I
spot these unlicensed font-uses, do I follow up with a letter or email to try to
get a proper license?

The answer is all very handwavy :)

I sometimes have, when the mood strikes, but there are three reasonably
well-defined tiers:

(A) Big companies, who just use the fonts and don't care, and ignore me when I
contact them.
(B) Medium companies, who pony up and apologize when contacted, and
(C) Mom-and-pop small companies, who email me first to register before using.

Sometimes they send swag instead of money. There was a b-grade horror DVD that
used one of my fonts for the packaging, and they sent me lobby cards and DVDs
and whatnot when I spotted it at Blockbuster. Anheuser-Busch promised (but never
delivered) posters. Stuff like that. A toy company sent me several packages of
miniature skateboards. I really liked that because the packaging used the font
in interesting ways (raised type, foil, decals, etc) so it was nice seeing it
like that. When White Wolf used "Arvigo" in their Vampire game (you can also
spot it now in "Vampire for Dummies") they ponied up with free RPGs on top of
registering, so that's a happy thing. I mean, I don't play WW games, but I like
free RPGs :) And of course, Sandra and I got free season passes to the roller
derby last year for a font, and that rocked (especially if you compare the price
of roller derby tickets to the $10-$20 grand total I usually charge for a
typeface license).

Last night at the supermarket I spotted Dirty Headline in a magazine
advertisement for videogames based on "Family Guy." I shudder to think what
_they_ might send if I bother contacting them.

Since the typefaces are such a self-serving sideline hobby anyway (I keep doing
them mainly to stay in practice, and without even trying they generate more
revenue than I _ever_ expected) I mainly just take any use of them as a
compliment. The fact that they generate any revenue at all (and they do ... )
continues to be a source of minor ticklish wonder.



|| S. John Ross
|| Husband · Cook · Writer
|| In That Order
|| http://www.io.com/~sjohn