FONT LICENSE VETTING
Need to license a new font?
After initial consultation with you to find out exactly how the font will be used, Font Shield will review the EULA (end user license agreement) of the prospective font. If the licensing of the font is deemed to be “generous” and “simple”, we’ll advise you to proceed with the purchase and tell you exactly which licensing models you require.
If the font is deemed to be “restrictive” (and often expensive in order to lift restrictions) we will secure a price based on your requirements. We will also source and recommend alternate fonts that will honor the same look, feel, and integrity of the prospective font and have licensing terms and conditions that are more generous and simple – as well as cost-effective.
FONT LICENSE VETTING
Need to license a new font?
After initial consultation with you to find out exactly how the font will be used, Font Shield will review the EULA (end user license agreement) of the prospective font. If the licensing of the font is deemed to be “generous” and “simple”, we’ll advise you to proceed with the purchase and tell you exactly which licensing models you require.
If the font is deemed to be “restrictive” (and often expensive in order to lift restrictions) we will secure a price based on your requirements. We will also source and recommend alternate fonts that will honor the same look, feel, and integrity of the prospective font and have licensing terms and conditions that are more generous and simple – as well as cost-effective.
FONT LICENSE VETTING
Need to license a new font?
After initial consultation with you to find out exactly how the font will be used, Font Shield will review the EULA (end user license agreement) of the prospective font. If the licensing of the font is deemed to be “generous” and “simple”, we’ll advise you to proceed with the purchase and tell you exactly which licensing models you require.
If the font is deemed to be “restrictive” (and often expensive in order to lift restrictions) we will secure a price based on your requirements. We will also source and recommend alternate fonts that will honor the same look, feel, and integrity of the prospective font and have licensing terms and conditions that are more generous and simple – as well as cost-effective.
Greg Mitchell, Founder & CEO
Well-respected in the advertising industry, Greg has a vast depth of knowledge in – and passion for – typography. He has mentored art directors, designers, developers, production and QC staff, and countless others on the delivery of a quality typographic product.
As a typographer for over 40 years, Greg has witnessed many changes in the world of typefaces, fonts and the technologies that use them. Significant changes have also occurred in font licensing terms and conditions.
Greg graduated from The George Brown College of Applied Arts and Technology in Toronto in their three-year Graphic Arts Printing Technologist Program, specializing in Typography.
His first job was with two traditional typographers who taught him the craft of typesetting for the next seven years. Following that, he freelanced around Toronto in various type houses.
In 1990, Greg joined Ogilvy & Mather Advertising as a typesetter/production artist and shortly after moved into the role of Type Director until 2012.
After a few years of developing and implementing a font management and licensing policy for Ogilvy & Mather North America, Greg became Type Director with Ogilvy’s Global Creative Technologies Group in June 2014.
In March 2015, Greg moved to IBM Global as Type Director, working on font management and licensing for the WPP account.
Having worked with fonts in an advertising environment for most of his career, Greg is acutely aware how convoluted font licensing can be. This can put brands and agencies at risk by misunderstanding their licensing requirements.
Realizing the need for font licensing expertise in the advertising industry, Greg launched Font Shield Inc.
Greg Mitchell, Founder & CEO
Well-respected in the advertising industry, Greg has a vast depth of knowledge in – and passion for – typography. He has mentored art directors, designers, developers, production and QC staff, and countless others on the delivery of a quality typographic product.
As a typographer for over 40 years, Greg has witnessed many changes in the world of typefaces, fonts and the technologies that use them. Significant changes have also occurred in font licensing terms and conditions.
Greg graduated from The George Brown College of Applied Arts and Technology in Toronto in their three-year Graphic Arts Printing Technologist Program, specializing in Typography.
His first job was with two traditional typographers who taught him the craft of typesetting for the next seven years. Following that, he freelanced around Toronto in various type houses.
In 1990, Greg joined Ogilvy & Mather Advertising as a typesetter/production artist and shortly after moved into the role of Type Director until 2012.
After a few years of developing and implementing a font management and licensing policy for Ogilvy & Mather North America, Greg became Type Director with Ogilvy’s Global Creative Technologies Group in June 2014.
In March 2015, Greg moved to IBM Global as Type Director, working on font management and licensing for the WPP account.
Having worked with fonts in an advertising environment for most of his career, Greg is acutely aware how convoluted font licensing can be. This can put brands and agencies at risk by misunderstanding their licensing requirements.
Realizing the need for font licensing expertise in the advertising industry, Greg launched Font Shield Inc.
Greg Mitchell, Founder & CEO
Well-respected in the advertising industry, Greg has a vast depth of knowledge in – and passion for – typography. He has mentored art directors, designers, developers, production and QC staff, and countless others on the delivery of a quality typographic product.
As a typographer for over 40 years, Greg has witnessed many changes in the world of typefaces, fonts and the technologies that use them. Significant changes have also occurred in font licensing terms and conditions.
Greg graduated from The George Brown College of Applied Arts and Technology in Toronto in their three-year Graphic Arts Printing Technologist Program, specializing in Typography.
His first job was with two traditional typographers who taught him the craft of typesetting for the next seven years. Following that, he freelanced around Toronto in various type houses.
In 1990, Greg joined Ogilvy & Mather Advertising as a typesetter/production artist and shortly after moved into the role of Type Director until 2012.
After a few years of developing and implementing a font management and licensing policy for Ogilvy & Mather North America, Greg became Type Director with Ogilvy’s Global Creative Technologies Group in June 2014.
In March 2015, Greg moved to IBM Global as Type Director, working on font management and licensing for the WPP account.
Having worked with fonts in an advertising environment for most of his career, Greg is acutely aware how convoluted font licensing can be. This can put brands and agencies at risk by misunderstanding their licensing requirements.
Realizing the need for font licensing expertise in the advertising industry, Greg launched Font Shield Inc.
PROTECTING YOUR BUSINESS
FROM UNWANTED FONT LAWSUITS
Look around you. Typefaces (fonts) are used in virtually every type of media that exists, however they are perhaps the most taken for granted tool in any creative toolbox.
At first blush, fonts may seemingly be innocuous little pieces of software, but in reality they are someone’s intellectual property – every bit as much as illustration, photography, and music are – and are protected by the very same copyright laws. Fonts are software. Like any software, whoever uses a font must first purchase licensing to use it – and agree to use it according to the terms and conditions set out by the font foundry in their End User License Agreement (called a EULA). A EULA is a legally binding agreement.
Creatives spend hours searching for the “perfect” font that will align with the messages in the designs and deliverables they produce for their brand clients. While aesthetics play a pivotal role in font choice, properly licensing fonts and using them in a compliant manner is even more vital. Failing to do so can lead to expensive (and embarrassing) litigation due to copyright infringement.
FONT LICENSING IS CONFUSING.
WITH CONFUSION COMES RISK OF COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT.
The actual font licensing and procurement process is anything but simple. Licensing a font for commercial use is confusing and requires making sound vetting decisions based on a convoluted maze of options and details inherent in the type design industry. Fonts, foundries, licensing models, terms and conditions, purchasing options, and exactly who must be licensed for each particular usage (agency? brand? both?) all require careful consideration before any licensing is purchased. Needless to say, it’s very easy to inadvertently make licensing mistakes that can result in legal action.
WHAT WE DO
We are font licensing and governance experts with a niche set of skills. We proactively protect advertising agencies and brands (and anyone else who uses fonts) from risky font licensing blind spots so they can have confidence that the fonts they use in their marketing materials are adequately licensed. We know the fonts, the foundries, the licensing models, and how to decipher the terms and conditions per use case. We have years of experience in internal agency production environments and know how fonts are used in the projects agencies create for their brand clients.
