The 8 Golden Rules of Font Software Licensing

  • Fonts are software and are therefore licensed, not purchased. A person licenses font software for limited use from the type designer or font software publisher that supplies it.
  • The license is granted in the form of an End User License Agreement (EULA) according to the number of computers the font software is installed on. Licensing terms vary depending on the font software publisher, so check carefully.
  • Most font software EULAs do not allow you to make copies of or to distribute font software to other individuals or organizations – such as service bureaus, design agencies, PR companies and printers – who do not also have a license to use it. Anyone using font software must have a license.
  • Most font publishers allow users to insert font software into documents, but only for previewing and printing. Most font publishers do not allow a document containing an inserted font to be edited.
  • Most font software publishers WILL allow users to create static images from font software (such as a GIF file used as a web banner).
  • Most font software publishers WILL NOT allow their software to be modified in any way without permission from the publisher.
  • A company will be liable if it lends or gives font software to anyone unless that person also has a license to use it.
  • If you have any doubts about your company’s licensing situation, please contact your font supplier or publisher.

 

Software Piracy Data


View the Piracy Rate by Region

A number of factors contribute to regional differences in piracy — the strength of intellectual property protection, the availability of pirated software, and cultural differences. In addition, piracy is not uniform within a country; it varies from city to city, industry to industry and demographic to demographic. While efforts to cut piracy in large businesses may be successful, piracy can increase as a result of new users from small businesses entering the market for the first time.

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