Times New Roman and Arial fonts blocked for customers from Russia

The owner of the rights to the fonts, the American company Monotype, has blocked access to its library on the site for users from RUSSIA

The owner of the rights to the fonts Times New Roman, Arial, Verdana, Tahoma and Helvetica, the American company Monotype has blocked access to its library on the site for Russian users. This was reported by the Vedomosti newspaper, citing sources in Russian it companies.

video

When trying to open a page with a catalog of fonts, the user sees a message about access denied. However, when you go to a page with VPN enabled, the directory becomes available.

The interlocutor of the publication in the IT company specified that the Monotype font library became unavailable to Russian users on April 11. He did not rule out that access could have been closed earlier, his company did not receive official notifications about this.

According to the newspaper, the most popular Monotype fonts are available to Russian users, for example, in MICROSOFT Office. The American company had previously suspended the sale of its products in Russia. A Microsoft representative declined to comment on cooperation with Monotype in the Russian market.

Monotype fonts will continue to work for users in Russia, believes Sergey Polovnikov, HEAD of the analytical agency Content Review, since Microsoft has acquired the rights to them. “Of course, Monotype can achieve a ban on the use of fonts in Russia, but this is too much red tape, it is unlikely that the company will go for it,” he said.

Monotype fonts, including Times New Roman, have analogues that are visually similar to the original, says Aleksey Andreev, managing partner at Depot branding agency. As an example, he cited the fonts of the Russian company Paratype.

Read on RBC Pro Pro How the development of surgical instruments made an immigrant a billionaire Articles ProHow exporting gas for rubles will affect investors:analysts' opinions Articles Pro How force majeure will help - instructions for use Instructions ProHarbingers of dismissal: how to understand that they are ready to say goodbye to you Instructions Pro "Nowthat you are ready to say goodbye Instructions Pro "Nowthat you are ready to say goodbye Instructions Pro "Now"Now"NowRussia is Crimea":experience of business development under severe sanctions Forecasts Pro What 5 points should be removed from the resume right now ArticlesPro What is happening with international companies with Russian origin Articles Pro Telecom has lost Western equipment.What awaits Russian companies Articles

Monotype fonts have been used in Microsoft and APPLE operating systems for many years, and some authorities require them to be used in official documents, said Pyotr Shcheglov, DIRECTOR of product marketing for Russian software developer MyOffice. In case of transition of the Russian organizations to domestic software there can be problems with documents in which foreign fonts are used, he specified.

RBC sent a request to Monotype.

The Ulyanovsk region was the first to switch to the Russian font in documents Society

Times New Roman was designed in 1932 by typographer Stanley Morison and artist Victor Laerdent. It was used in The Times newspaper, which improved readability and saved more space. Prior to 2007, the font was used by default in the Microsoft operating system.

The font has gained popularity. In particular, it is used in the official documentation of the US State Department and the Russian Ministry of Defense.