Just My Type: A Practical Guide to Font Licensing

AGG Technology and Entertainment & Sports attorney Michelle Davis authored an article for Intellectual Property & Technology Law Journal exploring the intersection of typography and intellectual property law and how it affects licensing of font software.

Michelle describes how fonts are a biproduct of copyrightable source code that create visual letterforms through a combination of creative design and technological innovation. The cross sections of typeface design present legal challenges as fonts tend to fall into a gray area between software and design aspects. She also outlines various types of font licenses, common compliance pitfalls, and best practices for organizations to manage font assets.

“The implementation of robust management systems, coupled with well-articulated policies and systematic compliance reviews, enables legal departments to shield their organizations from font-related liability while advancing their creative and technical objectives,” Michelle explains. “This approach transcends mere risk mitigation — it represents an investment in intellectual property stewardship and demonstrates a commitment to supporting the typography ecosystem that drives modern digital communication.”

To read the full article, subscribers may click here.