Font Licencing
Purchasing additional font licences online.
From solo freelancers, to design studios and corporations, Faces offers affordable licensing to meet the requirements of every type of user. Fonts purchased and downloaded from faces.co.uk are licensed for a default number of computers. Once you have added a font this number appears in your shopping cart. The default licence for most fonts is 5 computers. However, if you need to purchase additional licensing, simply enter the number of computers and update your order. For larger numbers of font licences it is always best to phone the office for a specific quote.
When you purchase a user licence for any font from Faces, you can be assured that the font is authentic and that Faces either owns or has the rights to license the fonts it carries.
If you need more information on licencing or would prefer to purchase additional licencing by phone, please call us at 01276 38888, 9am-5pm M-F and speak to John Austin.
Font Licensing simplified - the Eight Golden Rules.
Rule 01
Font software is licensed, not purchased. You license font software for limited use from the type designer or font software publisher that supplies it.
Rule 02
The licence is granted in the form of an End User Licence 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.
Rule 03
Most font software EULAs do not allow you to make copies of, or distribute font software to another organisation or individual who does not have their own licence to use it. This, for example, includes service bureaux, design agencies, PR companies, advertising agencies and printers. In summary, anyone using font software must have a licence.
Rule 04
Most font publishers allow users to embed font software into documents, but only for previewing and printing. Most font publishers do not allow a document containing an embedded font to be edited.
Rule 05
Most font software publishers will allow users to create static images from font software (such as a GIF file used as a web banner).
Rule 06
Most font software publishers will not allow their software to be modified in any way without permission from the publisher.
Rule 07
Your company will be liable if you lend or give font software to others to use without a licence.
Rule 08
If you have any doubts about your company’s licensing position, please contact Faces.
Some FAQs about font licensing answered.
What are fonts & typefaces?
Typefaces are collections of letterforms and glyphs, each designed with their own characteristics or style. They are the essence of communication. Without them you would not be able to read this article!
A font is the software that describes the letterforms and glyphs in a typeface.
Before the digital age, fonts were made from lead, each character being a separate piece. Today, fonts are software. They can be loaded onto our computer as part of operating systems such as Microsoft® Windows®, in software applications such as Adobe® Illustrator®, or licensed from type designers and font foundries. We use fonts every day - recognise Arial® or Times New Roman®?
Why do fonts warrant a licence?
The current method of designing and reproducing typefaces is digital - computer-based. The finished product is a unique piece of software with its own intellectual value.
The art of designing a typeface is a complex and highly skilled discipline. The process incorporates design know-how, painstaking precision and attention to detail. In many cases, even with all the digital tools that we have today, it may take years to produce a new typeface.
Like any software, digital fonts are intellectual property and are subject to copyright and trademark laws.
How are fonts licensed?
Fonts are owned by foundries or independent typeface designers. Most foundries license fonts for use on a set number of workstations and printers. For example, Monotype Imaging’s standard End User Licence Agreement (EULA) licenses a single font for use on five workstations and storage on one printer.
Collections of fonts can be purchased more competitively as libraries. For example Monotype Imaging licenses these for 10 or 20 users (and extended licences are available). Licensing standards of each foundry may vary on the number of workstations and printers.
The general rule is not to allow the distribution of fonts beyond the set number of workstations without an additional licence.
What is font embedding?
Font embedding is the ability to include font data within a document, providing control over the appearance of text that the reader sees.
Whatever software you use to create a document; maintaining formatting when sharing files with users on different computers is a headache! Fortunately, for document creators and Web designers, new techniques such as font embedding, font streaming and dynamic fonts bring increased typographic flexibility. Now it’s possible for designers to ensure that end users see their Web site in the desired font, ensuring consistency with a design theme or a corporate brand.
Embedding fonts into any documents or Web sites that allow editing or altering requires an additional licence.
Some licences such as the basic Monotype Imaging font software EULA include the ability to embed fonts into documents to preview and print only. However, some EULAs do not provide this ability - so check your licence terms carefully.
Also, embedding fonts into any documents sold commercially, such as eBooks, eMagazines, eReports, etc. requires an additional licence.
Are some fonts already licensed?
When you pay for your software application licence for products such as Microsoft Windows, you license the core fonts that are included within that application for the number of users you have licensed that application for.
Software publishers license fonts from foundries and pass on the royalty to the foundries from your licence fee.
This does not give you the right to transfer fonts from that application to unlicensed users or to use those fonts outside the terms of the software licence you have.
A few more words on licensing.
When purchasing a font, you are actually purchasing a licence for the perpetual use of that font. The font belongs to the publisher (supplier or the designer) of the font. Fonts are the intellectual property of their publishers and may be protected under many different domestic and international trademark, copyright and patent laws. The degrees of legal protection and enforcement vary from country to country.
Font licensing is conditional on how fonts are used, where they are used and how many computers they are used on. Normally, a single font is licensed for use on 1 to 5 computers and at a single address. However, each font publisher determines the specific conditions of their licences.
When you purchase the use of a font from Faces, you are granted the perpetual use of the font(s) upon condition that you have read and agreed to the terms and conditions of the End User Licence (EULA). The EULA is either included with the font software, faxed to you for your signature or included as an essential page (to check-off) as part of the online purchase transaction prior to the delivery of font software. The EULA is an important document. It is a legal and binding contract between you and the publisher of the font.
The licence fee you pay for the perpetual use of a font, helps pay for all the creative and production expenses needed to design, develop, test, market and distribute the font. All of which are steps essential to bringing a font to market.
Faces has been marketing and licensing computer fonts since 1989 and is familiar with how computer fonts can find their way into a business, either legally or otherwise. It is remarkable how often misappropriated fonts find their way into an otherwise legitimately run business. Even fonts that were correctly licensed initially, frequently end up being misused. This misuse commonly results from an increased population of font users and/or from users sharing fonts at a business location that is not the initial licensed address. Many companies therefore, unknowingly use computer fonts illegally.
The use of unlicensed font software exposes a company to many of the same legal remedies that protect the unlicensed use of other software products such as Adobe PhotoShop or Microsoft Office 2000. Furthermore, properly licensed font software prevent certain complications that can occur relating to a company's representation to its shareholders, potential new partners or owners.
The expense of legitimately licensing font software is surprisingly affordable especially compared to the expense and distraction of having to manage a legal dispute with one or more font publishers.
Faces is an authorised computer font reseller and represents the font products Adobe, Font Bureau, FontFont and Monotype, Linotype, ITC, Berthold to name only a few. We are very familiar with not only the largest computer font publishers, but also their fonts and different licensing programmes. In that regard, we are fully qualified to help your company determine if it has properly licensed the computer font software it holds.
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Contact: Faces. Ferneberga House, Alexandra Road, Farnborough, GU14 6DQ
Tel: 01276 38888 e-mail: info@faces.co.uk
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