
Font War: Inside the Design World's $20M Divorce - RougeFemme
http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-04-08/font-war-inside-the-design-worlds-20-million-divorce#r=most%20popular
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fuzionmonkey
If Frere-Jones loses the lawsuit, he should just release his own versions of
Gotham, Whitney, etc. After all, in the United States, typefaces are not
subject to copyright [1]. There is legal precedent that provides protection
for font files, (i.e. the "software" that generates the fonts) but the designs
themselves cannot be copyrighted. Just consider the many variants of Helvetica
or Futura [2], each published by a different foundry.

If Frere-Jones' allegations are true, I've lost all respect for what is now
Hoefler & Co. I remember eagerly awaiting the release of H&FJ webfont
licensing for years. Quite a shame what has happened between the two, H&FJ was
truly a great foundry.

[1] [http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-
bin/retrieveECFR?gp=&SID=a71104dd9f0...](http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-
bin/retrieveECFR?gp=&SID=a71104dd9f045002681202f3f302a5d4&r=PART&n=37y1.0.2.6.3#37:1.0.2.6.3.0.214.1)

[2] [http://www.quora.com/Typefaces/Which-foundrys-version-of-
Fut...](http://www.quora.com/Typefaces/Which-foundrys-version-of-Futura-
should-I-buy/answer/Stephen-Coles-1?share=1)

~~~
muglug
If Frere-Jones released versions of Gotham & Whitney, he'd be cutting off his
nose to spite his face. There'd a very large amount of investment required to
create anything close to the the versatility & range of H&Co's Gotham
(including all various weights, narrow families and truetype hinted webfonts),
and it would render him a much less sympathetic character.

His best bet is his current course of action, arduous and expensive as it is.
It really does appear that he's been shafted, but I hope each side gets a fair
hearing before a judge.

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erikpukinskis
Even if everything Hoefler says is true, and he owns the company outright, the
fact that he let a high-ranking employee of his for many years believe they
were a full partner is utterly deplorable.

~~~
100k
To the point of doing business under the purported employee's name! That's
pretty low.

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gkoberger
Seems they've already changed the name to Hoefler & Co on their website[1].
Also interesting that Frere-Jones isn't exclusively using ahis own typefaces
on his own website[2], likely due to them being owned by Hoefler.

H&FJ make some of my favorite typefaces; it's a shame their relationship has
come to an end.

1\. [http://www.typography.com/](http://www.typography.com/) 2\.
[http://www.frerejones.com/](http://www.frerejones.com/)

EDIT: Whoops, looks like MyFonts attributed it to different designers
[http://www.myfonts.com/fonts/fontbureau/benton-modern-
displa...](http://www.myfonts.com/fonts/fontbureau/benton-modern-display/)

~~~
Fuxy
I hate to chip in on matters i know nothing about but that contract looks
suspiciously one sided even for someone who knows nothing about this
situation.

As in something only a trusting gullible person would sign based on a verbal
agreement and without consulting a lawyer.

2 years unable to work without your previous employers permission? Holy shit
is that even enforceable?

He definitely got screwed to what degree I don't know.

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gammarator
The legal complaint by Frere-Jones is riveting:

[https://iapps.courts.state.ny.us/fbem/DocumentDisplayServlet...](https://iapps.courts.state.ny.us/fbem/DocumentDisplayServlet?documentId=ydQwzs4EZjDkplRrBmkkwA==system=prod)

~~~
jchendy
This part is amusing:

THE PARTIES

4\. Plaintiff Tobias Frere-Jones is one of the world's leading and most
recognized type designers, having designed over 800 fonts, in over 145
languages, that are widely used in newspapers, magazines, advertising,
packaging, websites, corporate identities, political campaigns and websites
around the world. He joined the faculty of the Yale School of Art in 1996 and
frequently lectures on typeface design and typography at other academic
institutions and graphic design organizations throughout the world. His work
has been profiled in many trade and general purpose publications, and is
included in the permanent collection of the Victoria & Albert Museum, London
and the Museum of Modern Art, New York. In 2006, Frere-Jones became the first
American to receive the prestigious Gerrit Noordzij Prize, presented by the
Royal Academy of Fine Arts in The Hague in honor of his unique contributions
to type design, typography, and type education. In 2013, he received the AlGA
medal -the graphic design profession's highest honor-in recognition for his
exceptional achievements over the course of his career, and his contributions
to the field of design and visual communication.

5\. Defendant Jonathan Hoefler is also a type designer and a businessman.

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chasing
It really does seem like Hoefler pulled one helluva scam on poor Frere-Jones,
here. And I really hope FJ gets some relief. But. Talk about painting a giant
target on your forehead...

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jamesaguilar
Get. It. In. Writing. Number zero rule of doing business, especially with
friends.

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danmaz74
"The sale was for nominal consideration of $10 and Frere-Jones, who had left
Font Bureau, moved to New York and actively worked to build HTF" This should
be enough to show that Hoefler is a scumbag - and Frere-Jones a really naive
person. I hope that Hoefler will have his business reputation ruined.

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pcrh
This reminds me of the feud between Cobden-Sanderson and Walker over the
_Doves_ font that was used by Kelmscott Press, founded by William Morris.
Cobden-Sanderson committed "typocide" in order to prevent others from using
this font.

[http://www.economist.com/news/christmas-
specials/21591793-le...](http://www.economist.com/news/christmas-
specials/21591793-legendary-typeface-gets-second-life-fight-over-doves)

[http://7thsealblog.wordpress.com/2011/09/10/reviving-the-
dov...](http://7thsealblog.wordpress.com/2011/09/10/reviving-the-doves-
type-%E2%80%93-part-i-2/)

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pmorici
How does something like this even materialize? Is it a matter of there not
being written contracts I mean the guys name was in the company name how can
they say he was only an employee?

~~~
drcoopster
FJ's name wasn't in the official company name, just their assumed (doing
business as) name, which is meaningless.

~~~
pmorici
So essentially the one guy with more business sense tricked the other guy into
thinking things were one way when they were not.

~~~
integraton
Essentially, but we need a phrase other than "business sense" to describe this
kind of terrible behavior.

~~~
100k
Sociopath?

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jeremyw
Even to a type enthusiast, their ~equal partnership rang like a bell. Can
Frere-Jones be blamed (putting aside legalities) for his lapse? Just
reminisce, a mere 8 years, no Venture Hacks and Y Combinator, no bright lights
on the way naifs should think about business and partnerships. How many verbal
contracts gone sour have _you_ heard about? We are trusting souls.

(These guys joined up in 1999.)

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subpixel
Trust, but verify.

~~~
andrewchoi
In God we trust; all others bring data.

