Copyright law seeks to protect the effort put in by creators of works, whether they be designers, architects, artists, or musicians. With the development of computer software, the need to protect intellectual property has become even greater. As TypeRight will inform you on other pages, American law is sadly lacking in recognizing the type designers' efforts.
Type design has as much effort as a melody of a song.
And yet, those who employ no effort aside from filtering others' fonts through Fontographer and selling them under new names can often put up strong defences. This is ironic, as the United States professes to be the leader in the protection of intellectual property. Type designers, instead, have to go through the process of patent registration. In most Commonwealth and European nations, copyright has a far more stronger position. In terms of fonts, the spirit of copyright is evident.