Is Microsoft Yahei not a free font？ Controversy caused by font infringement
Recently, "Microsoft Yahei is not a free font" caused a wide discussion of public opinion, and once boarded the online hot search list. The Beijing Youth Daily reporter learned that Microsoft Yahei is an embedded font in the Windows operating system and can be used directly without downloading and installing. However, after being used in brand promotion, enterprises or online stores were sued for infringement by Beijing Peking University Founder Electronics Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Peking University Founder") on the grounds that users used Microsoft Yahei fonts for the purpose of "commercial release" and had to pay extra copyright fees.
Whether fonts are protected by copyright law is still controversial in the legal field. Legal experts believe that artistic fonts can be protected by copyright law, and the degree of protection should depend on their originality. Some lawyers also said that for the "Microsoft Yahei" infringement incident, Windows users should not become the main body of Peking University founder to investigate the infringement responsibility.
Users don’t know the commercial infringement of "Microsoft Yahei"
On March 7th this year, a consulting company in Chengdu, Sichuan received an email from Founder of Peking University, reminding the company to use a variety of Founder fonts without authorization in brand promotion. Please check the feedback in time to avoid legal risks.
According to an employee of the consulting company who asked not to be named, the company used three fonts of Founder in several publicity pictures on official website and WeChat WeChat official account. Subsequently, Peking University Founder got in touch with the consulting company to inform the font that it was infringed, and requested that the used font be purchased for one year.
"We have objections to one of the three fonts that Founder pointed out were infringing — — Microsoft Yahei font, because Microsoft Yahei is an embedded font in the Windows operating system, it can be used directly without downloading and installing. " The staff of the above consulting company said. The reporter of Beiqing Daily found that many enterprises and online stores were sued for infringement by Peking University Founder after using Microsoft Yahei fonts. For example, the "Microsoft Yahei is not a free font" incident that recently appeared on the online hot search list was also caused by a company intern using Microsoft Yahei and pirated PS software to print 50 million samples and use them for commercial purposes, which led to the company being sued and the loss reached 28.6 million yuan.
What is the relationship between "Microsoft Yahei" and "Founder Font Library"? The reporter of Beiqing Daily asked the customer service staff of Founder Font Library as a consultant. The other party explained that as early as when Microsoft entered China, Microsoft entrusted Founder of Peking University to create Microsoft Yahei font, but the copyright still belongs to Founder of Peking University. When users use the Windows operating system, Microsoft Yahei fonts can be displayed on the screen or used for personal printing, which can be used for free. However, if it is for the purpose of "commercial distribution", copyright fees need to be paid. Among the paid fonts, the authorized usage fee of the so-called basic fonts is 7,000 yuan per year, and the authorized usage fee of the so-called fine fonts is as high as 20,000 yuan per year.
However, many companies and individuals do not understand the above situation, and the expensive licensing fee makes it difficult for many people to accept it at the moment. "When using without any infringement tips, who knows this is to pay! If you really want to defend your rights, add ‘ directly after the font. Pay ’ Just two words? " A staff member engaged in the art industry told the reporter of Beiqing Daily.
In view of the fact that Microsoft Yahei font has no obvious copyright statement or payment prompt in the Windows operating system, Beiqing Daily reporter contacted the head of Founder Marketing Department of Peking University, who said that he would not be interviewed.
Merchants encounter the promotion of "preferential packaging scheme"
Another merchant revealed to the reporter of Beiqing Daily that when being investigated for font infringement by Peking University Founder, it also encountered the situation of promoting the "preferential packaging scheme".
According to a shop owner of an e-commerce platform, Founder of Peking University informed the commodity introduction agency on its page that the Founder font used was unauthorized, and requested that all links using Founder font be removed from the shelves within two days, and can only be uploaded again after the font modification is completed. The shopkeeper asked, "Can you relax the time?"? The founder staff of Peking University replied that "the time is stipulated by the rights protection center. Our side is the authorization center and belongs to two departments. We can’t interfere with their work. Please understand."
However, the customer service of Founder Font Library later said that as long as the authorization is handled, the fonts beyond the authorization scope can be relaxed to "be modified within one month", and at the same time, the preferential packaging scheme is promoted to the owner: "The authorization to purchase at least two fonts, if you handle five models, the highest discount can be applied for 20%."
In desperation, the owner expressed his willingness to choose two basic fonts. However, I didn’t expect that the founder staff of Peking University quickly changed their minds and said: "The minimum number of basic fonts is 10, and the effect is not as good as that of selected fonts." After repeated negotiations, the owner finally bought a basic font and a selected font license.
Original artistic characters can be protected by copyright law.
Judging from the cases of Fangzheng font safeguarding rights in recent years, the court’s judgment results are not the same. Should fonts be protected by copyright law? Feng Xiaoqing, a professor at the School of Civil and Commercial Economics of China University of Political Science and Law and director of the Institute of Intellectual Property Law, believes that artistic fonts can be protected by copyright law as works of art if they meet the conditions of originality. However, the degree of protection cannot be generalized, but should depend on the degree of originality.
Although different fonts are recognizable, the ultimate goal of Chinese characters is to record facts and express ideas, on the premise of "not affecting the ultimate goal of Chinese characters’ expression and expression" Therefore, it is necessary to analyze specific cases. Some fonts do have strong originality and high artistry, so they should enjoy a high degree of copyright protection; The originality of some fonts is not so obvious, and whether it constitutes infringement when it is used by the majority of merchants. If there is an infringement dispute, it needs to be analyzed in detail by the court. At the same time, we should also consider the purpose, environment, subjective and objective conditions and other factors of the font being commercialized.
"In short, whether fonts are used for commercial purposes without payment and permission constitutes infringement cannot be across the board." Feng Xiaoqing said. In any case, from the perspective of copyright protection, we should pay attention to the relationship between the right boundary of copyright and the public sphere. Copyright law is a mechanism for balancing right protection and right restriction, private right protection and public interest. Copyright owners can fully and effectively exercise their rights, but they cannot abuse their rights to the detriment of consumers’ interests and public interests.
Text/reporter Wang Bin Lei Jia
conversation
Windows users should not be the subject of tort liability investigation by Peking University Founder.
Interviewer: Lu Gang, lawyer of Beijing Cube Law Firm.
Beiqing Daily: Founder Company of Peking University said that the copyright of Microsoft Yahei embedded font in Windows operating system belongs to Founder of Peking University, and users need to pay the copyright fee when using it for the purpose of "commercial release". What do you think?
Lu Gang: The "exhaustion doctrine Principle" is an important principle in intellectual property law. That is, once the intellectual property owner legally places the products formed by intellectual property in the circulation field, all (or part of) the rights of the original intellectual property owner are exhausted.
Specific to the issue of Microsoft Yahei font, Peking University is authorizing (or allowing) the "Microsoft Yahei" font to be built into Microsoft’s Windows operating system. At this time, Peking University’s right to copy and distribute the intellectual property of its font library has reached the right boundary for users of Microsoft Windows operating system. In other words, when users use the built-in font "Microsoft Yahei" in Windows system, they don’t need to report to the font library creator — — Peking University is licensed, and users don’t need to know who the owner of the font library is.
At the same time, it is also the inevitable use and natural result of computer software functions that users use the text system of Windows system to process documents. Therefore, whether the user prints the document or uses it on the Internet, whether it is for personal use or business, it is the natural result of using the font. After all, the purpose of writing a document is to express the author’s thoughts and intentions, and the real function of the document can be reflected by showing readers and other audience groups in the form of external communication.
Therefore, based on the above reasons, I think that users of Windows operating system should not be the subject of tort liability pursued by Peking University Founder, nor should they bear corresponding tort liability.
Beiqing Daily: Except official website, the founder of Peking University, you can download Founder fonts by searching online at will, and even mark "free software" impressively. Is this piracy or infringement? Do users have to bear the responsibility for downloading and using fonts in this way?
Lu Gang: First of all, for the pirated font software that can be downloaded at will on the Internet, even if it is marked as "free use", it is not a statement issued by the obligee. In this case, the person who provides the downloaded resources belongs to "distribution behavior without the authorization of the right holder", and the user who downloads and installs belongs to "distribution behavior without the authorization of the right holder", so they need to bear the tort liability respectively.
In addition, if the user is using pirated Windows operating system, any embedded font library and other software programs can’t be genuine (without Microsoft’s authorization). In this case, if infringement is claimed, only Microsoft can claim the tort liability of pirated software for Windows operating system.
Text/reporter Wang Bin