diff --git a/common/attrstr.c b/common/attrstr.c
index 2445c330..f2cdb66b 100644
--- a/common/attrstr.c
+++ b/common/attrstr.c
@@ -93,11 +93,11 @@ static void u8u16len(const char *str, size_t *n8, size_t *n16)
 	*n8 = 0;
 	*n16 = 0;
 	while (*str) {
-		str = utf8DecodeRune(str, 0, &rune);
+		str = uiprivUTF8DecodeRune(str, 0, &rune);
 		// TODO document the use of the function vs a pointer subtract here
 		// TODO also we need to consider namespace collision with utf.h...
-		*n8 += utf8EncodeRune(rune, buf);
-		*n16 += utf16EncodeRune(rune, buf16);
+		*n8 += uiprivUTF8EncodeRune(rune, buf);
+		*n16 += uiprivUTF16EncodeRune(rune, buf16);
 	}
 }
 
@@ -179,9 +179,9 @@ void uiAttributedStringInsertAtUnattributed(uiAttributedString *s, const char *s
 	while (*str) {
 		size_t n;
 
-		str = utf8DecodeRune(str, 0, &rune);
-		n = utf8EncodeRune(rune, buf);
-		n16 = utf16EncodeRune(rune, buf16);
+		str = uiprivUTF8DecodeRune(str, 0, &rune);
+		n = uiprivUTF8EncodeRune(rune, buf);
+		n16 = uiprivUTF16EncodeRune(rune, buf16);
 		s->s[old] = buf[0];
 		s->u8tou16[old] = old16;
 		if (n > 1) {
diff --git a/common/controlsigs.h b/common/controlsigs.h
index 1cbf18d5..06397187 100644
--- a/common/controlsigs.h
+++ b/common/controlsigs.h
@@ -1,5 +1,7 @@
 // 24 april 2016
 
+// TODO if I don't decide to remove these outright, should they be renamed uiprivTypeNameSignature? these aren't real symbols, so...
+
 #define uiAreaSignature 0x41726561
 #define uiBoxSignature 0x426F784C
 #define uiButtonSignature 0x42746F6E
diff --git a/common/utf.c b/common/utf.c
index 9efb9493..5577529b 100644
--- a/common/utf.c
+++ b/common/utf.c
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 // utf by pietro gagliardi (andlabs) — https://github.com/andlabs/utf/
 // 10 november 2016
+// function names have been altered to avoid namespace collisions in libui static builds (see utf.h)
 #include "utf.h"
 
 // this code imitates Go's unicode/utf8 and unicode/utf16
@@ -9,7 +10,7 @@
 
 // encoded must be at most 4 bytes
 // TODO clean this code up somehow
-size_t utf8EncodeRune(uint32_t rune, char *encoded)
+size_t uiprivUTF8EncodeRune(uint32_t rune, char *encoded)
 {
 	uint8_t b, c, d, e;
 	size_t n;
@@ -72,7 +73,7 @@ done:
 	return n;
 }
 
-const char *utf8DecodeRune(const char *s, size_t nElem, uint32_t *rune)
+const char *uiprivUTF8DecodeRune(const char *s, size_t nElem, uint32_t *rune)
 {
 	uint8_t b, c;
 	uint8_t lowestAllowed, highestAllowed;
@@ -172,7 +173,7 @@ const char *utf8DecodeRune(const char *s, size_t nElem, uint32_t *rune)
 }
 
 // encoded must have at most 2 elements
-size_t utf16EncodeRune(uint32_t rune, uint16_t *encoded)
+size_t uiprivUTF16EncodeRune(uint32_t rune, uint16_t *encoded)
 {
 	uint16_t low, high;
 
@@ -198,7 +199,7 @@ size_t utf16EncodeRune(uint32_t rune, uint16_t *encoded)
 }
 
 // TODO see if this can be cleaned up somehow
-const uint16_t *utf16DecodeRune(const uint16_t *s, size_t nElem, uint32_t *rune)
+const uint16_t *uiprivUTF16DecodeRune(const uint16_t *s, size_t nElem, uint32_t *rune)
 {
 	uint16_t high, low;
 
@@ -240,7 +241,7 @@ const uint16_t *utf16DecodeRune(const uint16_t *s, size_t nElem, uint32_t *rune)
 
 // TODO find a way to reduce the code in all of these somehow
 // TODO find a way to remove u as well
-size_t utf8RuneCount(const char *s, size_t nElem)
+size_t uiprivUTF8RuneCount(const char *s, size_t nElem)
 {
 	size_t len;
 	uint32_t rune;
@@ -251,7 +252,7 @@ size_t utf8RuneCount(const char *s, size_t nElem)
 		len = 0;
 		t = s;
 		while (nElem != 0) {
-			u = utf8DecodeRune(t, nElem, &rune);
+			u = uiprivUTF8DecodeRune(t, nElem, &rune);
 			len++;
 			nElem -= u - t;
 			t = u;
@@ -260,13 +261,13 @@ size_t utf8RuneCount(const char *s, size_t nElem)
 	}
 	len = 0;
 	while (*s) {
-		s = utf8DecodeRune(s, nElem, &rune);
+		s = uiprivUTF8DecodeRune(s, nElem, &rune);
 		len++;
 	}
 	return len;
 }
 
-size_t utf8UTF16Count(const char *s, size_t nElem)
+size_t uiprivUTF8UTF16Count(const char *s, size_t nElem)
 {
 	size_t len;
 	uint32_t rune;
@@ -278,8 +279,8 @@ size_t utf8UTF16Count(const char *s, size_t nElem)
 		len = 0;
 		t = s;
 		while (nElem != 0) {
-			u = utf8DecodeRune(t, nElem, &rune);
-			len += utf16EncodeRune(rune, encoded);
+			u = uiprivUTF8DecodeRune(t, nElem, &rune);
+			len += uiprivUTF16EncodeRune(rune, encoded);
 			nElem -= u - t;
 			t = u;
 		}
@@ -287,13 +288,13 @@ size_t utf8UTF16Count(const char *s, size_t nElem)
 	}
 	len = 0;
 	while (*s) {
-		s = utf8DecodeRune(s, nElem, &rune);
-		len += utf16EncodeRune(rune, encoded);
+		s = uiprivUTF8DecodeRune(s, nElem, &rune);
+		len += uiprivUTF16EncodeRune(rune, encoded);
 	}
 	return len;
 }
 
-size_t utf16RuneCount(const uint16_t *s, size_t nElem)
+size_t uiprivUTF16RuneCount(const uint16_t *s, size_t nElem)
 {
 	size_t len;
 	uint32_t rune;
@@ -304,7 +305,7 @@ size_t utf16RuneCount(const uint16_t *s, size_t nElem)
 		len = 0;
 		t = s;
 		while (nElem != 0) {
-			u = utf16DecodeRune(t, nElem, &rune);
+			u = uiprivUTF16DecodeRune(t, nElem, &rune);
 			len++;
 			nElem -= u - t;
 			t = u;
@@ -313,13 +314,13 @@ size_t utf16RuneCount(const uint16_t *s, size_t nElem)
 	}
 	len = 0;
 	while (*s) {
-		s = utf16DecodeRune(s, nElem, &rune);
+		s = uiprivUTF16DecodeRune(s, nElem, &rune);
 		len++;
 	}
 	return len;
 }
 
-size_t utf16UTF8Count(const uint16_t *s, size_t nElem)
+size_t uiprivUTF16UTF8Count(const uint16_t *s, size_t nElem)
 {
 	size_t len;
 	uint32_t rune;
@@ -331,8 +332,8 @@ size_t utf16UTF8Count(const uint16_t *s, size_t nElem)
 		len = 0;
 		t = s;
 		while (nElem != 0) {
-			u = utf16DecodeRune(t, nElem, &rune);
-			len += utf8EncodeRune(rune, encoded);
+			u = uiprivUTF16DecodeRune(t, nElem, &rune);
+			len += uiprivUTF8EncodeRune(rune, encoded);
 			nElem -= u - t;
 			t = u;
 		}
@@ -340,8 +341,8 @@ size_t utf16UTF8Count(const uint16_t *s, size_t nElem)
 	}
 	len = 0;
 	while (*s) {
-		s = utf16DecodeRune(s, nElem, &rune);
-		len += utf8EncodeRune(rune, encoded);
+		s = uiprivUTF16DecodeRune(s, nElem, &rune);
+		len += uiprivUTF8EncodeRune(rune, encoded);
 	}
 	return len;
 }
diff --git a/common/utf.h b/common/utf.h
index b810a49d..41e556f8 100644
--- a/common/utf.h
+++ b/common/utf.h
@@ -1,25 +1,29 @@
 // utf by pietro gagliardi (andlabs) — https://github.com/andlabs/utf/
 // 10 november 2016
 
+// note the overridden names with uipriv at the beginning; this avoids potential symbol clashes when building libui as a static library
+// LONGTERM find a way to encode the name overrides directly into the utf library
+
 #ifdef __cplusplus
 extern "C" {
 #endif
 
+// TODO (for utf itself as well) should this go outside the extern "C" block or not
 #include <stddef.h>
 #include <stdint.h>
 
 // if nElem == 0, assume the buffer has no upper limit and is '\0' terminated
 // otherwise, assume buffer is NOT '\0' terminated but is bounded by nElem *elements*
 
-extern size_t utf8EncodeRune(uint32_t rune, char *encoded);
-extern const char *utf8DecodeRune(const char *s, size_t nElem, uint32_t *rune);
-extern size_t utf16EncodeRune(uint32_t rune, uint16_t *encoded);
-extern const uint16_t *utf16DecodeRune(const uint16_t *s, size_t nElem, uint32_t *rune);
+extern size_t uiprivUTF8EncodeRune(uint32_t rune, char *encoded);
+extern const char *uiprivUTF8DecodeRune(const char *s, size_t nElem, uint32_t *rune);
+extern size_t uiprivUTF16EncodeRune(uint32_t rune, uint16_t *encoded);
+extern const uint16_t *uiprivUTF16DecodeRune(const uint16_t *s, size_t nElem, uint32_t *rune);
 
-extern size_t utf8RuneCount(const char *s, size_t nElem);
-extern size_t utf8UTF16Count(const char *s, size_t nElem);
-extern size_t utf16RuneCount(const uint16_t *s, size_t nElem);
-extern size_t utf16UTF8Count(const uint16_t *s, size_t nElem);
+extern size_t uiprivUTF8RuneCount(const char *s, size_t nElem);
+extern size_t uiprivUTF8UTF16Count(const char *s, size_t nElem);
+extern size_t uiprivUTF16RuneCount(const uint16_t *s, size_t nElem);
+extern size_t uiprivUTF16UTF8Count(const uint16_t *s, size_t nElem);
 
 #ifdef __cplusplus
 }
@@ -33,27 +37,27 @@ extern size_t utf16UTF8Count(const uint16_t *s, size_t nElem);
 // TODO same for UniChar/unichar on Mac? if both are unsigned then we have nothing to worry about
 #if defined(_MSC_VER)
 
-inline size_t utf16EncodeRune(uint32_t rune, __wchar_t *encoded)
+inline size_t uiprivUTF16EncodeRune(uint32_t rune, __wchar_t *encoded)
 {
-	return utf16EncodeRune(rune, reinterpret_cast<uint16_t *>(encoded));
+	return uiprivUTF16EncodeRune(rune, reinterpret_cast<uint16_t *>(encoded));
 }
 
-inline const __wchar_t *utf16DecodeRune(const __wchar_t *s, size_t nElem, uint32_t *rune)
+inline const __wchar_t *uiprivUTF16DecodeRune(const __wchar_t *s, size_t nElem, uint32_t *rune)
 {
 	const uint16_t *ret;
 
-	ret = utf16DecodeRune(reinterpret_cast<const uint16_t *>(s), nElem, rune);
+	ret = uiprivUTF16DecodeRune(reinterpret_cast<const uint16_t *>(s), nElem, rune);
 	return reinterpret_cast<const __wchar_t *>(ret);
 }
 
-inline size_t utf16RuneCount(const __wchar_t *s, size_t nElem)
+inline size_t uiprivUTF16RuneCount(const __wchar_t *s, size_t nElem)
 {
-	return utf16RuneCount(reinterpret_cast<const uint16_t *>(s), nElem);
+	return uiprivUTF16RuneCount(reinterpret_cast<const uint16_t *>(s), nElem);
 }
 
-inline size_t utf16UTF8Count(const __wchar_t *s, size_t nElem)
+inline size_t uiprivUTF16UTF8Count(const __wchar_t *s, size_t nElem)
 {
-	return utf16UTF8Count(reinterpret_cast<const uint16_t *>(s), nElem);
+	return uiprivUTF16UTF8Count(reinterpret_cast<const uint16_t *>(s), nElem);
 }
 
 #endif
diff --git a/windows/utf16.cpp b/windows/utf16.cpp
index 6afd0b0e..b9e57599 100644
--- a/windows/utf16.cpp
+++ b/windows/utf16.cpp
@@ -12,12 +12,12 @@ WCHAR *toUTF16(const char *str)
 
 	if (*str == '\0')			// empty string
 		return emptyUTF16();
-	n = utf8UTF16Count(str, 0);
+	n = uiprivUTF8UTF16Count(str, 0);
 	wstr = (WCHAR *) uiprivAlloc((n + 1) * sizeof (WCHAR), "WCHAR[]");
 	wp = wstr;
 	while (*str) {
-		str = utf8DecodeRune(str, 0, &rune);
-		n = utf16EncodeRune(rune, wp);
+		str = uiprivUTF8DecodeRune(str, 0, &rune);
+		n = uiprivUTF16EncodeRune(rune, wp);
 		wp += n;
 	}
 	return wstr;
@@ -32,12 +32,12 @@ char *toUTF8(const WCHAR *wstr)
 
 	if (*wstr == L'\0')		// empty string
 		return emptyUTF8();
-	n = utf16RuneCount(wstr, 0);
+	n = uiprivUTF16RuneCount(wstr, 0);
 	str = (char *) uiprivAlloc((n + 1) * sizeof (char), "char[]");
 	sp = str;
 	while (*wstr) {
-		wstr = utf16DecodeRune(wstr, 0, &rune);
-		n = utf8EncodeRune(rune, sp);
+		wstr = uiprivUTF16DecodeRune(wstr, 0, &rune);
+		n = uiprivUTF8EncodeRune(rune, sp);
 		sp += n;
 	}
 	return str;