Hasbro getting sued! pony theme at risk?

[Metemponychosis 1,263]

@@cuteycindyhoney, yes. You're right.  But I didn't say that copyrighting fonts doesn't exist. I said I think it's idiotic. 

[El Duderino 881]

The thing with fonts is that it is easy to argue that it is just a coincidence that the font looks like the font bros one. This probably is not their best course of action, though.

 

Likelihood is that the font bros wont win. Taking on a corporate giant like Hasbro, especially with such ridiculous demands, is no easy task. Even if they do, Hasbro will likely end up spending more money on lawyers than the actual final settlement.

[TubeSock2018 325]

Companies get sued all the time. Nintendo has been sued plenty of times since the release of the DS. They've won some and lost some, but if I hadn't been actively following Nintendo news, I wouldn't have even known.

 

I doubt this will affect Hasbro in any major way. Hasbro's a big company thatcan afford good lawyers. That doesn't necessarily mean "get out of jail" free card, but it could result in a settlement out of court. Hasbro's lawyers could keep delaying and appealing to the point where the suing company just wants to end the court case (which can become extremely pricey, even for big companies).

But this also costs Hasbro the lawyer fees, so perhaps it'll be better to just pay what they owe.

 

Overall, Hasbro will most likely be fine and we won't notice a thing

[Nari 17]

Here's a link to the font in question.

 

http://www.fontbros.com/families/generation-b/styles/regular

 

You can see the different licensing options available in the purchase options section.

 

In my opinion this is a case of someone tying to strike it rich on someone else's coattails. Hopefully any judge will be able to see the true intent and throw the case out. Why did Font Bros wait so long to sue? To allow the brand to get bigger and more widespread so they could sue for more. Judging by their demands the intent to damage the My Little Pony brand is clear.

 

Some other irrelevant company tried to sue James Cameron for using the Papyrus font for AVATAR and that case was thrown out immediately.

[Gestum 2,493]

I said I think it's idiotic.

People worked hard to make those fronts, why is it idiotic to make sure that you can earn a little for that work?

[Shanks 10,817]

People worked hard to make those fronts, why is it idiotic to make sure that you can earn a little for that work?

It is idiotic because if something as trivial as fonts can be copyrighted than what can't be? Exactly what kind of limit is there in what can be copyrighted? So many things are getting copyrighted that something could easily represent something else by sheer coincidence and some greedy asshole could still sue them for it. Who in the hell even heard of the Font Brothers before this was announced? I sure didn't and it is likely even Hasbro haven't even heard of them. They are just a bunch of crooks trying to cash in on a corrupt copyright system that needs to be scrapped and replaced. Just because something is legal dosen't make it right.

[Malinter 3,065]

Says in the description the font was "inspired by the opening font from the walt disney movie, The Parent Trap".

 

"Hey Mickey, these font bro guys are stealing your s***!" XD

[Johnny1226 14,674]

If this ends mlp we bronies should go on the March

[ShadOBabe 19,068]

Yep, they got me pegged. The reason I buy little plastic horses is because DAT FONT YO.

[DJW 142]

That said... The whole thing is idiotic in my opinion. From the ideia of copyrighting a font...

 

Tell that to a typographer, calligraphist or graphic designer.

 

Drums are just bunch of beats and all cars are kinda the same shape so why should you be able to copyright a song or the shape of a car?

The other thing to consider is branding, as mentioned above, the CocaCola is a good example. Another is the typeface used on the London Underground, originating from the map - today considered a design classic. Given the right circumstances, it could be argued that using the font is an attempt to add borrowed legitimacy/renown to a piece.

 

Incidentally, as far as I can make out, you can't copyright a typeface, however, you can submit a design patent for the shape of the glyphs the typeface is made from.

 

 

 

Design patents, on the other hand, cover the ornamental aspects of functional items from being infringed.

 

So technically this is patent violation, not copyright infringement (I think).

Edited January 26, 2016 by DJW

[Gestum 2,493]

 

It is idiotic because if something as trivial as fonts can be copyrighted than what can't be?

anything that doesn't meet up to the requirements of fixation,expression or originality can't be copyrighted.

Who in the hell even heard of the Font Brothers before this was announced

So what you're trying to say is that it's okay to steal people's work as long as you don't know about them?

[Malinter 3,065]

So what you're trying to say is that it's okay to steal people's work as long as you don't know about them?

 

He does have a point though. If this was about protecting their copyright and not an obvious money grab scheme. They would have not waited 5 years before opening their mouths.

[Shanks 10,817]

anything that doesn't meet up to the requirements of fixation,expression or originality can't be copyrighted.

And how do fonts fit into that exactly? By that logic I could copyright a bowel movement and sue someone for having a similar bowel movement if they tried to copyright theirs. There is nothing completely original about any font period, end of story and therefore they shouldn't be able to be copyrighted.

 

 

So what you're trying to say is that it's okay to steal people's work as long as you don't know about them?

My point is how is Hasbro guilty of wrong doing when didn't even know they "stole" something in the first place? How can they know when nobody knew who these people were or what their font looked like until now? Hasbro is a major corporation but what if Font Brothers decided to sue an average person instead for this? Companies have already sued ordinary citizens for trivial violations so what is to stop them from bullying an average person who can't defend themselves over this?

[PiratePony 8,499]

He does have a point though. If this was about protecting their copyright and not an obvious money grab scheme. They would have not waited 5 years before opening their mouths.

 

Not to mention wait until it's exploded, spin off movies, a feature film in the works...and no way they would have made anywhere CLOSE to what they're suing for even if licensing went through. Their website is kind of wonky too, where you can buy fonts, but then you have to click a little places here and there to find that you have to purchase more on top of that for licensing. 

[Gestum 2,493]

He does have a point though. If this was about protecting their copyright and not an obvious money grab scheme. They would have not waited 5 years before opening their mouths.

Well, it is a little suspicious, but it doesn't really prove that it's a "obvious money grab scheme". There's other reasons for why you would wait a few years before you would attempt to sue a huge corporation.

[DJW 142]

Looking further, Font Bro's actually stipulated something slightly different:

 

 

 

“Font Brothers has lost, and will continue to lose, substantial revenue from Defendant’s wrongful use, copying, distribution, and creation of unauthorized infringing works based upon the GENERATION B font software.”

 

The last two words are key, as you can copyright the software that generates a font (a modern font is like a Flash vector, with maths used to generate it regardless of scale).

[Black Sabbath 2,488]

My point is how is Hasbro guilty of wrong doing when didn't even know they "stole" something in the first place? How can they know when nobody knew who these people were or what their font looked like until now? 

It doesn't matter if Hasbro knew about it or not, it's still copyrighted.

[Shanks 10,817]

The last two words are key, as you can copyright the software that generates a font (a modern font is like a Flash vector, with maths used to generate it regardless of scale).

So if that is true that would mean that they pirated software made by the Font Brothers company and not the font itself? 

[Guest]

 

 

He does have a point though. If this was about protecting their copyright and not an obvious money grab scheme. They would have not waited 5 years before opening their mouths.

 

Legally I think they should at LEAST get paid for a single license. Other than that, I don't think they are entitled to millions.

[Wind Chaser 4,769]

The idea of copyrighting a typeface sounds like the world's greatest get-rich-quick scheme. I should just go copyright my handwriting right now. This isn't without precedent, given that even colors can be trademarked as well.

 

With that said, this smacks of nothing short of opportunism. It's all a way to game the legal system in order to capitalize on the success of G4 MLP. MLP is not alone. Every time a media franchise becomes successful, small-time artists usually come out of the woodwork looking to scam the rights holder for easy money by gaming the legal system. In some cases, evidence is actually engineered. This isn't one of those cases, but the 5-year waiting period is highly suspect.

 

Granted, this lawsuit has much more of a leg to stand on than most other opportunistic infringement suits being that it is a copyrighted font, however Hasbro will probably dish out the hush money and be done with it.

 

Even so, it is said the the typeface itself was "inspired" by The Parent Trap. So if anyone has the right to be taking Hasbro to court, it's Disney.

 

I just feel bad for the poor SOB who actually spends $20 per use for a set of fucking letters.

Edited January 26, 2016 by Wind Chaser

[Shanks 10,817]

It doesn't matter if Hasbro knew about it or not, it's still copyrighted.

And that is the problem, that this shit can be copyrighted in the first place. It shows that copyright laws is geared toward protecting corporations at the expense of everyone else though sometimes companies can screw other companies as well. Is there no respect for the first amendment anymore because I am fairly certain arbitrary laws such as this are unconstitutional.

[Merion 783]

http://www.equestriadaily.com/2016/01/hasbro-being-sued-by-font-bros-america.html

hasbro is getting sued by font bros for using one of their fonts without paying, this is the font in question

th.jpg

 

 

Which one? Dude, there are literally 4 deifferent fonts in the MLP logo  

 

Looked at the comments on the article on EQD and I must say, the fact that you can copyright a font right off the bat is not a good thing. Fonts are supposed to be for just about everyone to use, and slapping a copyright is really just a bait so you can get easy cash.

 

Whoa, whoa, WHOA.

Graphic design major speaking here - believe me, creating a good, well-functioning font takes A LOT of work and effort. It's not something anyone can do using MS Word. Designing fonts is not a piece of cake and it's definitely not "easy cash" either.

 

Would you use someone's vector art on the packaging of your product without paying them? Of course not. Consider the decorative fonts used in the logo an example of very complex vector art. 

[PinkieatHeart 208]

I'm not really good with legal stuff, but... if this is such a big deal to Font Bro's, why didn't they mention it sooner? Were they like, waiting for their font to be used again and again and again so they could get tons of money? Cuz to me, that's what it feels like.

[TopQuark 409]

Doesn't this forum use that same font on the homepage?

[Dark Qiviut 22,681]

What strikes me as weird, besides the five-year wait, is this:

 

"About: Inspired by the opening titles of the Walt Disney film, The Parent Trap (1961), designed by T. Hee, Bill Justice and Xavier Atencio, Generation B is a playful and offbeat font with a late 50s-early 60s vibe that goes from beatnik coffeehouse to rustic beach shack. It’s basically an all-caps font, with big and small versions of each letter plus some alternates. With a little tweaking, you can create the look of quirky hand-lettering.

 

Generation B is one of the official fonts used in the TV series My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic! Enjoy, my little Bronies!"

It's on this Font Bros. webpage and was acknowledged as far back as 2012. Something's screwy.