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Font Smuggler – Copy hidden brand fonts into Google Docs

brianmoore.com

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Re: Font Smuggler – Copy hidden brand fonts into Google Docs

#61

Post by Cockbrand »

WillAdams wrote: post #13

Surprised that such font access isn't gated by IP address --- usually font licenses are quite restrictive and have such requirements for usage.

This is an architectural problem. These companies share their documents with externals, and the documents must behave normally to these externals. So it doesn't just have to look as intended, the external person also needs to be able to edit the documents with the CI fonts available.

One could imagine that access to the fonts could be restricted to the logged-in user, but that would mean that public documents that can be accessed without a login wouldn't have the specific fonts.

Re: Font Smuggler – Copy hidden brand fonts into Google Docs

#62

Post by WillAdams »

qingcharles wrote: post #59
WillAdams wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The access would presumably need to be done through a VPN to have the fonts.

Ehh.. a lot of these docs go out to customers and end users. Playboy for instance sends out tons of their updates and plans to clients with their own custom fonts in it.

That's what PDFs are for --- the font files can be embedded in a fashion which precludes downloading/usage.

Various print shops have systems in place for previewing/approving print jobs as well.

Re: Font Smuggler – Copy hidden brand fonts into Google Docs

#63

Post by JoshTriplett »

gguncth wrote: post #46
virtualritz wrote: post #25

I love how all these 'brand' fonts look indistinguishable to an untrained eye and still brain-frying-bordedom-inducingly close to each other to someone like me who actually studied & worked in typography. Related: https://eidosdesign.substack.com/p/why-every-brand-looks-the...

The purpose of the brand font is to avoid paying licensing fees. Because the typefaces aren’t protected by copyright it’s usually enough to just have someone go and essentially clone an existing font. The whole thing is an artifact of peculiarities of IP law

> The purpose of the brand font is to avoid paying licensing fees.

There are more than enough good fonts under OFL that it surprises me people want to commission a custom font primarily for licensing reasons rather than using a standard one.

Re: Font Smuggler – Copy hidden brand fonts into Google Docs

#64

Post by bigstrat2003 »

rafram wrote: post #37
SAI_Peregrinus wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It only matters to the designers. The users don't care which sans-serif font the designers picked, they all look the same.

Fine, I’ll take the bait. If this is true, then why isn’t everything in the world Arial/Helvetica?

Because people are stupid enough to worry about many things which don't matter. This includes, but is not limited to, font choices.

Re: Font Smuggler – Copy hidden brand fonts into Google Docs

#65

Post by bigstrat2003 »

virtualritz wrote: post #25

I love how all these 'brand' fonts look indistinguishable to an untrained eye and still brain-frying-bordedom-inducingly close to each other to someone like me who actually studied & worked in typography. Related: https://eidosdesign.substack.com/p/why-every-brand-looks-the...

Corporate branding is nothing but an exercise in playing psychological tricks on people. None of it is actually distinct or important. But the silver tongued guys say it is, so people believe it even though it isn't true.

Re: Font Smuggler – Copy hidden brand fonts into Google Docs

#66

Post by F7F7F7 »

WillAdams wrote: post #13

Surprised that such font access isn't gated by IP address --- usually font licenses are quite restrictive and have such requirements for usage.

Google would sooner turn off the feature than build some convoluted solution to protect a custom brand font. It's a problem that's not worth solving.

I can just as easily download them from any of the brand's official websites. The vast majority are being utilized via font-face and are rendering inside of heading and body text.

Convenient WOFF format, all weights, and available in 2 clicks in Dev Tools. And if Dev Tools is too difficult there are dozens of free extensions that will do it for you.

I'd argue that what little Google provides now is more secure than the official websites' usage.

Re: Font Smuggler – Copy hidden brand fonts into Google Docs

#67

Post by Dylan16807 »

Someone wrote: post #10
vrganj wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why did we go from owning the software we run and being able to just modify things as we see fit to "You have to give Google a lot of money so you can have your own font in your own presentation"? Where did things go this wrong?

If you want to drink your own wine in a restaurant, you have to pay for that, too. This isn’t much different; there still are plenty of non-Google options for creating presentations to choose from that do allow using your own font.

If SaaS is a restaurant, what's software I purchase? A personal robot chef with an infinite ingredient supply, no charge for using my own wine?

I think that supports the "Where did things go this wrong?" sentiment.

Re: Font Smuggler – Copy hidden brand fonts into Google Docs

#68

Post by 9864247888754 »

bigstrat2003 wrote: post #64
rafram wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Fine, I’ll take the bait. If this is true, then why isn’t everything in the world Arial/Helvetica?

Because people are stupid enough to worry about many things which don't matter. This includes, but is not limited to, font choices.

[flagged]

Re: Font Smuggler – Copy hidden brand fonts into Google Docs

#69

Post by NoMoreNicksLeft »

an-honest-moose wrote: post #50
NoMoreNicksLeft wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>You really should pay, especially for work by small foundries. You can't copyright the alphabet. >and it's a huge problem if everyone pirates your work. I've never pirated a font. Not once have I boarded a ship in the middle of the ocean, gun in hand, taking the crew and cargo of typography hostage. But more seriously, I acknowledge that it's a problem. It's just not my problem.

>You can't copyright the alphabet. You're not paying to use the alphabet, there are plenty of perfectly legible typefaces that are completely free for you to use.

You can't copyright basic geometric shapes either.

>there are plenty of perfectly legible typefaces that are completely free for you to use.

You mean there are plenty of bezier curved shapes which are within the public domain and no one can stop me. I'm not obligated to surrender my rights so you can turn typography into a business model. If you piss me off, I might just release tools that even stooges can use that copy the shapes out of the otf file, rearrange those completely so that no file fingerprinting will match, and has the user rename the files. I will go to war.

Re: Font Smuggler – Copy hidden brand fonts into Google Docs

#70

Post by NoMoreNicksLeft »

dhosek wrote: post #40
NoMoreNicksLeft wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>You really should pay, especially for work by small foundries. You can't copyright the alphabet. >and it's a huge problem if everyone pirates your work. I've never pirated a font. Not once have I boarded a ship in the middle of the ocean, gun in hand, taking the crew and cargo of typography hostage. But more seriously, I acknowledge that it's a problem. It's just not my problem.

Legally, typeface designs do not receive protection (which is based on idiotic declarations like “you can’t copyright the alphabet”) but digital font files are considered programs and thus are able to be protected as IP.¹ You can try to justify the theft to yourself but somewhere there’s an individual (or on some occasions many individuals) who spent a long time making decisions about how that typeface should look an…

>there are plenty of perfectly legible typefaces that are completely free for you to use.

Legally based off the carefully considered positions of philosophers of law like Thomas Jefferson, and others just as renowned, who actually created modern copyright law in the United States, because they weren't trying to set you up to be rent-seeking degenerate scribblers for the next umpteen millennia.

>but digital font files are considered programs

As precedented in case law by degenerate judges who should be brought up on treason charges. They aren't programs in any meaningful sense, culinary recipes are likely closer to programs (they, arguably, run on a Turing-complete machine, the human brain, and have something akin to branching going on once in awhile).

>You can try to justify the theft

What theft? No theft occurred, because I denied no one the possession of their own property. Even the judges and lawyers have to admit that this is at most infringement, so please use that word or just confess here and now that you'rea manipulative liar.

>I would note that bitmap fonts do not receive the same protection as Type 1 or OTF fonts.

What!?!?! Those aren't programs too? Please, consult the computer scientists, they must be informed! Are they also not stored as ones and zeroes?

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