[LocalH]

From a US perspective, typeface piracy is impossible absent a design patent, as typefaces cannot be copyrighted (37 C.F.R. § 202.1(e)). Individual font implementations may be copyrightable, but if one can acquire a specimen, they may digitize or recreate that specimen. Also, only outline fonts are protected (due to the fact that most of them contain some sort of executable code), bitmap fonts are not copyrightable (and absent a design patent, there is no other legal avenue for protection).

This doesn't end the debate, obviously, for those outside of the US.