Vietnamese Simzy founder faces £13,000 font licensing claim

Founder Lê Vĩnh Ngà of the Vietnamese coding‑learning platform Simzy says he received an email from FontRadar, acting for CoType Foundry, that the app’s version 2.0.0 still contained the commercial Aeonik font. The notice demanded payment of £13,300 (about £15,960 after 20 % VAT) for a licence covering past and future use.

Ngà explains the font was included in an early MVP, later replaced by a free alternative, and that the app had no revenue, no ads and the font was never displayed to users. FontRadar counters that removal does not erase the infringement, asserting the app owner remains liable for any unlicensed assets embedded in the code. The case has sparked debate in Vietnam’s developer community about font‑copyright risks and legal exposure for small software projects.