By Park Eun-ji
It is commonly thought that using proprietary fonts for non-profit, personal purposes does not constitute copyright infringement. However, the scope of such non-commercial use of fonts is much more limited than the public may think. Special caution must be particularly exercised when using downloadable free font files from the internet to decorate social network accounts, blogs, or websites.
This is because, unlike ordinary property, "computer program property" such as fonts may be protected by copyright even when used for non-profit or personal purposes. In other words, the Copyright Act stipulates that for "computer program property" such as fonts, even usage for personal and non-commercial purposes may be prohibited if it "unreasonably prejudices the interest of the holder of author's economic rights," unless permission has been received from the rights holder.
Therefore, if you download and install font files from the internet to use on your social network account or personal website, there is a possibility it may be in violation of the Copyright Act.
In fact, this has contributed to a recent increase in copyright infringement by ordinary individuals who lack an understanding of copyright or licensing laws. Of course, these individual users may be excused from criminal liability if they prove there was no illegal copying of the font, that it was difficult to recognize whether there were restrictions on usage, and so on and so forth.
However, it is important to note that if the individual's usage was outside the scope of free use set by the font's creator, they may be liable for damages for breach of contract (license).
Considering these risks, the problem here is that it is difficult for the public to check the terms and conditions each and every time a person downloads a font file. As a solution, the Korea Copyright Protection Agency, a public organization under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, has developed and distributed "Inspector," a tool with which software users can voluntarily check and manage their use of software such as font files.
After scanning your computer with "Inspector," if you find any font files that you do not recall purchasing or installing, you can delete them from your computer and stop using them. At this stage, no English version of this software is available.
Additionally, in light of the recent increase in similar cases of copyright infringement regarding wrongful use of font files, the Korea Copyright Commission has issued a list of free Korean fonts (93 as of Jan. 2, 2019) to reduce inconvenience in font use and to prevent copyright disputes.
People who have already been using free fonts for non-profit or personal purposes and do not know who the original creator is may have questions on how to begin using those fonts lawfully.
To help in this regard, the Korea Copyright Commission operates a "Find the Rights Holder" website, where you can find information in Korean on properties registered with the Korea Copyright Commission and those managed by other copyright trust management businesses.
If you cannot find any information even on the above website, you can obtain a statutory license. The "statutory license system" allows a person who failed, despite considerable efforts, to identify the holder of an author's economic rights to a work (excluding those of foreigners) made public, and therefore could not obtain any authorization for its exploitation, to exploit the work by obtaining approval from the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism and depositing a sum of money with the court depository.
In short, it is highly possible for a legal problem to occur in relation to non-profit and/or personal use of fonts, and therefore, it is crucial to check the terms and conditions of individual fonts before use and specifically to make inquiries to the relevant font creators.
Park Eun-ji is a lawyer in the Tech & Comms, Corporate, and Employment & Labor practice groups, and has successfully defended large corporations across a wide range of industries in cross border litigations.
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This is because, unlike ordinary property, "computer program property" such as fonts may be protected by copyright even when used for non-profit or personal purposes. In other words, the Copyright Act stipulates that for "computer program property" such as fonts, even usage for personal and non-commercial purposes may be prohibited if it "unreasonably prejudices the interest of the holder of author's economic rights," unless permission has been received from the rights holder.
Therefore, if you download and install font files from the internet to use on your social network account or personal website, there is a possibility it may be in violation of the Copyright Act.
In fact, this has contributed to a recent increase in copyright infringement by ordinary individuals who lack an understanding of copyright or licensing laws. Of course, these individual users may be excused from criminal liability if they prove there was no illegal copying of the font, that it was difficult to recognize whether there were restrictions on usage, and so on and so forth.
However, it is important to note that if the individual's usage was outside the scope of free use set by the font's creator, they may be liable for damages for breach of contract (license).
Considering these risks, the problem here is that it is difficult for the public to check the terms and conditions each and every time a person downloads a font file. As a solution, the Korea Copyright Protection Agency, a public organization under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, has developed and distributed "Inspector," a tool with which software users can voluntarily check and manage their use of software such as font files.
After scanning your computer with "Inspector," if you find any font files that you do not recall purchasing or installing, you can delete them from your computer and stop using them. At this stage, no English version of this software is available.
Additionally, in light of the recent increase in similar cases of copyright infringement regarding wrongful use of font files, the Korea Copyright Commission has issued a list of free Korean fonts (93 as of Jan. 2, 2019) to reduce inconvenience in font use and to prevent copyright disputes.
People who have already been using free fonts for non-profit or personal purposes and do not know who the original creator is may have questions on how to begin using those fonts lawfully.
To help in this regard, the Korea Copyright Commission operates a "Find the Rights Holder" website, where you can find information in Korean on properties registered with the Korea Copyright Commission and those managed by other copyright trust management businesses.
If you cannot find any information even on the above website, you can obtain a statutory license. The "statutory license system" allows a person who failed, despite considerable efforts, to identify the holder of an author's economic rights to a work (excluding those of foreigners) made public, and therefore could not obtain any authorization for its exploitation, to exploit the work by obtaining approval from the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism and depositing a sum of money with the court depository.
In short, it is highly possible for a legal problem to occur in relation to non-profit and/or personal use of fonts, and therefore, it is crucial to check the terms and conditions of individual fonts before use and specifically to make inquiries to the relevant font creators.
Park Eun-ji is a lawyer in the Tech & Comms, Corporate, and Employment & Labor practice groups, and has successfully defended large corporations across a wide range of industries in cross border litigations.
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