Creative software company Extensis today announced an upgrade to its font server, Universal Type Server 3. Extensis said the new release enables companies to manage font usage and protect company assets from misuse and license infringement.

Extensis said many companies don't understand the restrictions on font usage. "Font licenses are very similar to software licenses and as a result, there are costly legal implications for companies that do not manage them properly,” said Extensis’ senior product manager Chris Meyer. There have been previous cases of font license violation lawsuits, including one involving the popular World of Warcraft game-maker Blizzard.

Features:

• Font usage reporting: View and export data for the number of seats in use for any font at any given time.
• Font license enforcement: Track license information and limit access to any font at any usage level.
• Server failover: Keep working even in cases where access is prevented to your primary Universal Type Server.
• Client creativity tools: Find similar fonts, exportable previews and auto-activate within Adobe CS applications, including InCopy and Photoshop.
• New Adobe InCopy Support: Editorial users now have access to precise font auto-activation through plug-ins for Adobe InCopy CS4 and CS5.