British Publisher Faces Big Fines Over Unlicensed Fonts

Health and financial publisher Campden faces large penalty for having over 11,000 fonts out-of-rights

Frequently the digital font user and designer hears of the possible effects of using font files and programs they don’t actually have a license to. As highlighted by Microsoft Typography and reported by IT/e-commerce news site out-law.com here, A British publshing firm specializing in the spheres of finance and medicine, Campden Publishing, has just found out the bill: GBP 80,000 (nearly USD 145,500).

The investigation was carried out by the British arm of the Business Software Alliance, a software-industry group concerned with limiting the losses caused by digital file piracy. Out-law.com reports that the BSA conducted a software audit of the company after a tip-off from a former employee, bringing in a specialist from Monotype to do same for its font files.

At first the company claimed only one out-of-license font but, after the audit, it was found that the company actually had 11,000 unauthorized fonts. The software audit itself has similarly-bad news, with 95% of the firm’s Adobe software and 75% of its Microsoft product was also unlicensed.

Current CEO John Petifor cited recent company travail as a defense, being quoted by Out-law.com:

The company has come up to compliance, but the cost has affected their bottom line coming as it does, all at once, in a time when company fortunes are in a state of turmoil.