Berthold Types Limited / The Hunts

Commentary
September 15, 2003

Berthold Types Limited / The Hunts

.....

¶ Harvey Hunt used to run TypeUSA, a FontShop outlet in Chicago (47 W Polk St, #100-310, Chicago, IL 60605). He bought the rights to the Berthold library for almost nothing a few years ago. Located here and now called Berthold Types Limited. Present coordinates: 47 W. Polk St. #100-340 Chicago, Illinois 60605 (T) +1 312-913-9044 (F) +1 312-913-9049 (E) press@bertholdtypes.com ||| H. Berthold Systeme AG Berlinerstr. 27 13507 Berlin, Germany 011 49 (30) 4399 3032 011 49 (30) 4399 3030 FAX.
¶ The Berthold collection is superb. Read on to learn what the Hunts are doing to this jewel of a collection. Enter Melissa M. Hunt, Vice President & General Counsel Berthold Types Limited, telephone +1 312-913-9044 fax +1 312-913-9049, Harvey's wife. Around the beginning of 2000, Harvey and Melissa Hunt, the "Hunts", came out swinging. First, they rehired Gerhard Lange as artistic consultant. That was the good news.

The bad news

¶ Now the bad news, taken mainly from their web page:
All information, feedback, data, questions, comments or suggestions regarding the content of this publication or other publication of H. Berthold and made by you or any viewer of this publication will not be considered confidential. You agree that H. Berthold will have all rights to reproduce, disclose, distribute and otherwise use any such response for any purpose whatsoever including, but not limited to, developing, manufacturing and marketing products based upon any such responses.
¶ This means that Berthold owns any idea you email them. In their rather bizarre licensing agreement they had some other unusual statements and claims that are incredibly restrictive:

The license is non-exclusive and non-transferable: so you cannot re-sell it or donate it as with 99% of computer software.
You cannot embed the font in ANY document: so no PDFs or any self-contained usage allowed. I guess you can't even put it in a postscript file that is shipped to your local printer. Strange!
"YOU may use the PRODUCT only at the address stated in the payment information you will complete to process your order". So one better not move - and heavens forbid if you have an office address different from your credit card info. But whatever the case - they will not tolerate use on a laptop that leaves your address.

¶ Interestingly, some time before May 2001, they improved their licensing agreement. PDF embedding is allowed. Also, you can now send the font along with a job to a printer. In other words, the licensing is not a major issue any further. Bravo, Berthold.

The withdawal period

¶ Early in their existence, Berthold started withdrawing the Berthold fonts from type distribution sites, starting with Adobe. They also stopped licensing Berthold fonts, even the ones made by Adobe, to Agfa Monotype. Apostrophe's comments on this: This will probably hurt them in the long run. Sad story really. The reason was given as "breach of contract, trademark infringement, unfair competition and deceptive trade practices". Well, I am not so sure now. If somehow they are able to establish a reputation for quality and resist the temptation to add grungy fuzzy stuff to of their collection, they may well end up winning. It will be an interesting race. In any case, the Berthold collection is now exclusively at the Berthold site.

The litigation period

¶ Soon afterwards, The Hunts started sending (frivolous) legal letters usually related to alleged trademark violations. A partial list of the "victims":

In 2000, Berthold Types Limited filed a complaint against defendants European Mikrograf Corp., Helios Software Gmbh, and Helmut Tschemernjak (president of Helios) including counterfeiting (of fonts) and trademark infringement. United States District Judge Holderman dismissed the complaint against Helios and Tschemernjak [their PDF Handshake software package has over 340 Berthold fonts] "for lack of personal jurisdistion": the Illinois law cannot touch people too far away from the state, so Berthold bites the dust!
Font City, a Russian foundry of Igor & Kate Shipovsky, decided to stop all activities after it received a letter from Berthold in August 2003, claiming that the foundry's name, Font City, is too close to their trademarked font name "City". Berthold wants them to change the name of their foundry (and the names of all their fonts as well)! They caved in and replaced the word City by its Russian translation, Gorod.
On Nick Curtis' site, we found this cryptic message, June 2003: "Berthold Types threatens legal action, claiming "trademark infringement and dilution of our ... marks, counterfeiting, and unfair competition with Berthold Types under applicable law" because of the similarity of the names Boulevard and Boogaloo Boulevard [the latter is a font by Curtis], and City and City Slicker [the latter is a font by Curtis]. More news as things develop." Not only is this frivolous and ridiculous, but I can't understand how a reputed typographer like G. G. Lange can keep his name associated with the Berthold syndicate. In the Fall of 2003, Nick decided to rename the fonts to Boogaloo Avenue NF and Points West, and the suit was dropped (however, the suit against MyFonts in this matter continues).More details.
Jamie Nazaroff from Zang-o-fonts has been marketing a typeface called Omicron Delta, created by him in 2001. He was contacted by Melissa Hunt (Vice President & General Counsel, Berthold Types Limited, 47 W. Polk St. #100-340, Chicago, Illinois 60605). She claims that Delta, designed by Gustav Jaeger, has been in the Berthold library since 1983, and asked him to remove the font, which Jamie did. The reaction by various type designers is documented in this page.
The (now extinct) German foundry PrimaFont. Press release by Berthold: "Chicago, Illinois (January 25, 2000) - As a result of legal action taken by Berthold Types Limited, PrimaFont International of Germany agreed to immediately cease the unauthorized sales of more than 300 Berthold typefaces from the PrimaFont CD-ROM, which also includes typefaces from other type foundries including Adobe, Agfa, Bauer Types, Bitstream, ITC, Letraset, Linotype and Monotype. PrimaFont infringed upon the trademark rights of Berthold Types by employing a "compatibility list" to identify the true names of the typefaces that PrimaFont sold using false names. "Berthold Types actively seeks to prevent the use of compatibility lists as such use has gone unchecked in the type industry," stated Melissa Hunt, Vice President & General Counsel for Berthold Types. Adding: "The use of compatibility lists causes as much damage in the type industry as any other form of font piracy." This most recent success in Berthold Types' continued aggressive anti-piracy efforts means that PrimaFont must remove the Berthold typefaces from the PrimaFont CD-ROM. In addition, PrimaFont agreed never to sell or deal in any products that contain Berthold's typefaces and to pay Berthold an undisclosed sum." This is crazy stuff.
This page discusses the case of Cape Arcona's fonts CA Cosmo-Pluto and CA Cosmo-Saturn, which Berthold did not like (they have a face called Cosmos). To avoid legal costs, Cape Arcona renamed its fonts CA-Cosmolab. Incredibly, Berthold contacted Stefan Claudius at Cape Arcona again and said that CA-Cosmolab was to close to Cosmos. They also asked Cape Arcona not to mention anything on their site about the forced renaming.
Berthold made Fontshop change the name of two of their packages (FF New Barmen 1 and 2, now called FF Sari 1 and 2), which evidently must have cost Fontshop some money and embarrassement. The name change was because FF New Barmen was too close to Barmeno, which is a Berthold font. As Apostrophe puts it: "I can only imagine the stream of curses that went through Hans Reichel's head when he was told of what happened."
Regarding Berthold Boton, Albert Boton himself writes: "Boton family is sold by Berthold Types despite Albert Boton never sign any contract with this new company. Note that Albert Boton never see any ¢ from the sales of that family. Don't buy Berthold Boton."

Afterthoughts

¶ From Apostrophe's comments on alt.binaries.fonts: "An example of the Hunts' attitude towards their customer base is in the so-called 'new' release of the Standard set. To call this a 'new' release and to issue it and charge prior customers money for it is insulting at best - and a scam and a knockoff of their own library. Standard was the name Berthold used for Akzidenz Grotesk when it was marketed as metal type in English speaking countries. There were no other differences. In this case, they have added a Euro symbol and changed the name, so that users will hopefully be lulled into laying out $249 US for what amounts to a added glyph that every other major foundry offers at no charge. To me this is an indicator of how low the new Berthold will stoop for a dollar."
¶ The Hunts explain the situation here, but have nearly all type designers against them. Two arguments stand out. First, Hrant Papazian asks Hunt, after he claims that only 12 lawsuits were filed: "May we please know how many "cease and desist" and other what might be informally called "pre-lawsuit" letters you have sent out? I think this is significant because -as anybody knows- a confrontational letter (especially when directed to individuals with modest or non-existent legal resources) can have nearly the same effect as a lawsuit." And equally poignant is the reply of B. Gibbs; "Many foundries and retailers were represented at TypeCon; I don't recall any Berthold presence, other than careful mentions in hushed conversations. Come to think of it, I rarely hear of anything other than legal action and scare tactics. Surely you must understand that while these actions intend to protect your assets from infringement, the perceptions of the end customer suffer. How would you respond to this? As one of the established names/brands in the industry, what is Berthold doing to preserve the craft and build the community?"
¶ Some people say that the Hunts lie to establish a reputation. For example, on Typophile, an anonymous poster wrote: "In the letter [to Zangofonts, claiming trademark violation] Melissa M. Hunt uses the term "Berthold Types Limited ("Berthold Types") is the successor to the H. Berthold type foundry and ..." This is not true! Berthold Types GmbH was bankrupted without any legal successor. The Hunts bought the trademarks and some of the digital outlines and photo type data before this happened. So all the rights are based on trademarks only. Berthold is dead." This poster refers to a German page which says: "HRB 31501 Berthold Types GmbH (Teltowkanalstr. 1 - 4, 12247 Berlin). Die Gesellschaft ist infolge rechtskräftiger Abweisung eines Antrages auf Eröffnung des Konkursverfahrens mangels Masse auf Grund des 1 des Gesetzes vom 9. Oktober 1934 aufgelöst. Von Amts wegen eingetragen."
¶ Considering the damage caused by them, it is difficult to believe that Harvey and Melissa Hunt were (are still?) members of ATypI.

Copyright © 2003 Luc Devroye
School of Computer Science
McGill University
Montreal, Canada H3A 2K6
luc@cs.mcgill.ca
http://luc.devroye.org/index.html

	Commentary September 15, 2003 Berthold Types Limited / The Hunts
.....	¶ Harvey Hunt used to run TypeUSA, a FontShop outlet in Chicago (47 W Polk St, #100-310, Chicago, IL 60605). He bought the rights to the Berthold library for almost nothing a few years ago. Located here and now called Berthold Types Limited. Present coordinates: 47 W. Polk St. #100-340 Chicago, Illinois 60605 (T) +1 312-913-9044 (F) +1 312-913-9049 (E) press@bertholdtypes.com \|\|\| H. Berthold Systeme AG Berlinerstr. 27 13507 Berlin, Germany 011 49 (30) 4399 3032 011 49 (30) 4399 3030 FAX. ¶ The Berthold collection is superb. Read on to learn what the Hunts are doing to this jewel of a collection. Enter Melissa M. Hunt, Vice President & General Counsel Berthold Types Limited, telephone +1 312-913-9044 fax +1 312-913-9049, Harvey's wife. Around the beginning of 2000, Harvey and Melissa Hunt, the "Hunts", came out swinging. First, they rehired Gerhard Lange as artistic consultant. That was the good news.
The bad news	¶ Now the bad news, taken mainly from their web page: All information, feedback, data, questions, comments or suggestions regarding the content of this publication or other publication of H. Berthold and made by you or any viewer of this publication will not be considered confidential. You agree that H. Berthold will have all rights to reproduce, disclose, distribute and otherwise use any such response for any purpose whatsoever including, but not limited to, developing, manufacturing and marketing products based upon any such responses. ¶ This means that Berthold owns any idea you email them. In their rather bizarre licensing agreement they had some other unusual statements and claims that are incredibly restrictive: The license is non-exclusive and non-transferable: so you cannot re-sell it or donate it as with 99% of computer software. You cannot embed the font in ANY document: so no PDFs or any self-contained usage allowed. I guess you can't even put it in a postscript file that is shipped to your local printer. Strange! "YOU may use the PRODUCT only at the address stated in the payment information you will complete to process your order". So one better not move - and heavens forbid if you have an office address different from your credit card info. But whatever the case - they will not tolerate use on a laptop that leaves your address. ¶ Interestingly, some time before May 2001, they improved their licensing agreement. PDF embedding is allowed. Also, you can now send the font along with a job to a printer. In other words, the licensing is not a major issue any further. Bravo, Berthold.
The withdawal period	¶ Early in their existence, Berthold started withdrawing the Berthold fonts from type distribution sites, starting with Adobe. They also stopped licensing Berthold fonts, even the ones made by Adobe, to Agfa Monotype. Apostrophe's comments on this: This will probably hurt them in the long run. Sad story really. The reason was given as "breach of contract, trademark infringement, unfair competition and deceptive trade practices". Well, I am not so sure now. If somehow they are able to establish a reputation for quality and resist the temptation to add grungy fuzzy stuff to of their collection, they may well end up winning. It will be an interesting race. In any case, the Berthold collection is now exclusively at the Berthold site.
The litigation period	¶ Soon afterwards, The Hunts started sending (frivolous) legal letters usually related to alleged trademark violations. A partial list of the "victims": In 2000, Berthold Types Limited filed a complaint against defendants European Mikrograf Corp., Helios Software Gmbh, and Helmut Tschemernjak (president of Helios) including counterfeiting (of fonts) and trademark infringement. United States District Judge Holderman dismissed the complaint against Helios and Tschemernjak [their PDF Handshake software package has over 340 Berthold fonts] "for lack of personal jurisdistion": the Illinois law cannot touch people too far away from the state, so Berthold bites the dust! Font City, a Russian foundry of Igor & Kate Shipovsky, decided to stop all activities after it received a letter from Berthold in August 2003, claiming that the foundry's name, Font City, is too close to their trademarked font name "City". Berthold wants them to change the name of their foundry (and the names of all their fonts as well)! They caved in and replaced the word City by its Russian translation, Gorod. On Nick Curtis' site, we found this cryptic message, June 2003: "Berthold Types threatens legal action, claiming "trademark infringement and dilution of our ... marks, counterfeiting, and unfair competition with Berthold Types under applicable law" because of the similarity of the names Boulevard and Boogaloo Boulevard [the latter is a font by Curtis], and City and City Slicker [the latter is a font by Curtis]. More news as things develop." Not only is this frivolous and ridiculous, but I can't understand how a reputed typographer like G. G. Lange can keep his name associated with the Berthold syndicate. In the Fall of 2003, Nick decided to rename the fonts to Boogaloo Avenue NF and Points West, and the suit was dropped (however, the suit against MyFonts in this matter continues).More details. Jamie Nazaroff from Zang-o-fonts has been marketing a typeface called Omicron Delta, created by him in 2001. He was contacted by Melissa Hunt (Vice President & General Counsel, Berthold Types Limited, 47 W. Polk St. #100-340, Chicago, Illinois 60605). She claims that Delta, designed by Gustav Jaeger, has been in the Berthold library since 1983, and asked him to remove the font, which Jamie did. The reaction by various type designers is documented in this page. The (now extinct) German foundry PrimaFont. Press release by Berthold: "Chicago, Illinois (January 25, 2000) - As a result of legal action taken by Berthold Types Limited, PrimaFont International of Germany agreed to immediately cease the unauthorized sales of more than 300 Berthold typefaces from the PrimaFont CD-ROM, which also includes typefaces from other type foundries including Adobe, Agfa, Bauer Types, Bitstream, ITC, Letraset, Linotype and Monotype. PrimaFont infringed upon the trademark rights of Berthold Types by employing a "compatibility list" to identify the true names of the typefaces that PrimaFont sold using false names. "Berthold Types actively seeks to prevent the use of compatibility lists as such use has gone unchecked in the type industry," stated Melissa Hunt, Vice President & General Counsel for Berthold Types. Adding: "The use of compatibility lists causes as much damage in the type industry as any other form of font piracy." This most recent success in Berthold Types' continued aggressive anti-piracy efforts means that PrimaFont must remove the Berthold typefaces from the PrimaFont CD-ROM. In addition, PrimaFont agreed never to sell or deal in any products that contain Berthold's typefaces and to pay Berthold an undisclosed sum." This is crazy stuff. This page discusses the case of Cape Arcona's fonts CA Cosmo-Pluto and CA Cosmo-Saturn, which Berthold did not like (they have a face called Cosmos). To avoid legal costs, Cape Arcona renamed its fonts CA-Cosmolab. Incredibly, Berthold contacted Stefan Claudius at Cape Arcona again and said that CA-Cosmolab was to close to Cosmos. They also asked Cape Arcona not to mention anything on their site about the forced renaming. Berthold made Fontshop change the name of two of their packages (FF New Barmen 1 and 2, now called FF Sari 1 and 2), which evidently must have cost Fontshop some money and embarrassement. The name change was because FF New Barmen was too close to Barmeno, which is a Berthold font. As Apostrophe puts it: "I can only imagine the stream of curses that went through Hans Reichel's head when he was told of what happened." Regarding Berthold Boton, Albert Boton himself writes: "Boton family is sold by Berthold Types despite Albert Boton never sign any contract with this new company. Note that Albert Boton never see any ¢ from the sales of that family. Don't buy Berthold Boton."
Afterthoughts	¶ From Apostrophe's comments on alt.binaries.fonts: "An example of the Hunts' attitude towards their customer base is in the so-called 'new' release of the Standard set. To call this a 'new' release and to issue it and charge prior customers money for it is insulting at best - and a scam and a knockoff of their own library. Standard was the name Berthold used for Akzidenz Grotesk when it was marketed as metal type in English speaking countries. There were no other differences. In this case, they have added a Euro symbol and changed the name, so that users will hopefully be lulled into laying out $249 US for what amounts to a added glyph that every other major foundry offers at no charge. To me this is an indicator of how low the new Berthold will stoop for a dollar." ¶ The Hunts explain the situation here, but have nearly all type designers against them. Two arguments stand out. First, Hrant Papazian asks Hunt, after he claims that only 12 lawsuits were filed: "May we please know how many "cease and desist" and other what might be informally called "pre-lawsuit" letters you have sent out? I think this is significant because -as anybody knows- a confrontational letter (especially when directed to individuals with modest or non-existent legal resources) can have nearly the same effect as a lawsuit." And equally poignant is the reply of B. Gibbs; "Many foundries and retailers were represented at TypeCon; I don't recall any Berthold presence, other than careful mentions in hushed conversations. Come to think of it, I rarely hear of anything other than legal action and scare tactics. Surely you must understand that while these actions intend to protect your assets from infringement, the perceptions of the end customer suffer. How would you respond to this? As one of the established names/brands in the industry, what is Berthold doing to preserve the craft and build the community?" ¶ Some people say that the Hunts lie to establish a reputation. For example, on Typophile, an anonymous poster wrote: "In the letter [to Zangofonts, claiming trademark violation] Melissa M. Hunt uses the term "Berthold Types Limited ("Berthold Types") is the successor to the H. Berthold type foundry and ..." This is not true! Berthold Types GmbH was bankrupted without any legal successor. The Hunts bought the trademarks and some of the digital outlines and photo type data before this happened. So all the rights are based on trademarks only. Berthold is dead." This poster refers to a German page which says: "HRB 31501 Berthold Types GmbH (Teltowkanalstr. 1 - 4, 12247 Berlin). Die Gesellschaft ist infolge rechtskräftiger Abweisung eines Antrages auf Eröffnung des Konkursverfahrens mangels Masse auf Grund des 1 des Gesetzes vom 9. Oktober 1934 aufgelöst. Von Amts wegen eingetragen." ¶ Considering the damage caused by them, it is difficult to believe that Harvey and Melissa Hunt were (are still?) members of ATypI.
	Copyright © 2003 Luc Devroye School of Computer Science McGill University Montreal, Canada H3A 2K6 luc@cs.mcgill.ca http://luc.devroye.org/index.html