Jerusalem – Daughter Of Hebrew Font Creator Sues Microsoft For Copyright Infringement

Jerusalem – The daughter of Henry Friedlander, legendary designer of the Hebrew print font known as “Hadassah,” is suing Microsoft for copyright violations, claiming the software giant is marketing adapted versions of the font without permission.

HAARETZ (http://bit.ly/19k1Y0O) reports that Hannah Tal, Friedlander’s only daughter and sole heir to his estate, said not only is Microsoft using her father’s font without permission, but it has damaged its integrity by altering the original to fit two font types available to its users, Guttman Hodes and Monotype Hadassah.

Friedlander began designing the font while hiding from the Nazis in the Netherlands some 70 years ago, while eventually completing his work, which he dubbed “Hadassah,” in 1958 in commemoration of Israel’s 10th anniversary of its independence.

Upon his passing in 1996 at the age of 92, Freidlander left his entire estate, including copyrights still in his possession, to Tal.

In her criticism of Microsoft’s use of her father’s work, Tal said, “Hadassah is a special, precious, and festive font, an original work of art, praised by experts as groundbreaking in terms of design and style. The Hadassah font is based on extensive historical research into the shapes and development of Hebrew letters.”

“Each and every letter was meticulously designed, preserving the uniqueness of each letter, while at the same time adapting the same style to all of the letters, said Tal.

Tal said Microsoft’s falsification and distortion of her father’s work would make him “turn over in his grave.”

Representatives for Microsoft say Friedlander transferred his rights to a Netherlands foundry in 1950, which then granted licenses to additional parties to use the font.

Microsoft says that those parties, in turn, transferred the rights to Microsoft.

In addition to that argument, Microsoft is also claiming that a statute of limitations clause applies to the case.