locally installed TTF overrides Google fonts

Question

I'm using the Ubuntu font from Google Fonts:

<link href='http://fonts.googleapis.com/css?family=Ubuntu:300,400,300italic,400italic,500,500italic,700,700italic' rel='stylesheet' type='text/css' />

My stylesheet:

body {
    font-family: 'ubuntu',arial;
}

It works, but if install a font with the same name (Ubuntu), it overrides the one from Google Fonts.

Is it possible to force the browser to use the one from Google Fonts?

Answer 1

The answer lies not in your code, but in Google's.

Here's part of the CSS you are requesting:

@font-face {
  font-family: 'Ubuntu';
  font-style: normal;
  font-weight: bold;
  src: local('Ubuntu Bold'), local('Ubuntu-Bold'), url('http://themes.googleusercontent.com/static/fonts/ubuntu/v4/0ihfXUL2emPh0ROJezvraLO3LdcAZYWl9Si6vvxL-qU.woff') format('woff');
}

Key line here is local('Ubuntu Bold'), which asks to load local file if possible. The simplest solution is to copy all the Google's CSS, paste it in your own CSS, and modify this local name to be, for example, local('Ubuntu Bold NonExisting Name or Something Else'). Such font does not exist and will not replace font loaded by CSS.

P.S. I have not tested this myself. If 0ihfXUL2emPh0ROJezvraLO3LdcAZYWl9Si6vvxL-qU.woff URL is expiring, then you are in a tough spot. Try to see font's licence and consider hosting the font yourself, if preventing local override is a priority.