Hi,
If I download a font which is "free for commercial use" and later on this font isn't free anymore, is it still legal to use it in new projects?
In other words, do I have to buy it although it was free when I first downloaded it?
Fonts - Copyrights
Hi,
If I download a font which is "free for commercial use" and later on this font isn't free...
&nsbp;
#4
HappyGD
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Posted 06 August 2014 - 09:59 PM
Hi,
If I download a font which is "free for commercial use" and later on this font isn't free anymore, is it still legal to use it in new projects?
In other words, do I have to buy it although it was free when I first downloaded it?
Did you download a font where this happened? The answer might be within the end-user license agreement
With fonts, sometimes certain weights have different license restrictions (example: normal is free, but bold and italic are not). Or maybe it could be that you have a different version of the font. Type foundries can produce and distribute the same font under different licenses.. it's not common but it can happen.
Anyways I think you are alright and don't need to worry
#7
HappyGD
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Moderator
Posted 07 August 2014 - 03:46 PM
Thanks HappyGD for your response. I think font restrictions can get tricky at times.
Yeah, it can be tricky sometimes. What I do is organize my fonts as either personal use or commercial use so in the future when choosing a font, I automatically know when I can use the font and whether I can freely give it to other people to use.
#9
DesignByLenny
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- Designer
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Member
Posted 08 August 2014 - 06:09 AM
Thank you again for your replies.
I'm still curious to know if downloading a font which is "free for commercial use" now is going to
provide me the right to use it in commercial projects in the future.
My concern is that if I use a specific font in a logo / business card and later on the client
will be interested in using the same font in other commercial materials, it will require an additional investment
(in case that the font's creator decides to change the license agreement).
I'm still curious to know if downloading a font which is "free for commercial use" now is going to
provide me the right to use it in commercial projects in the future.
My concern is that if I use a specific font in a logo / business card and later on the client
will be interested in using the same font in other commercial materials, it will require an additional investment
(in case that the font's creator decides to change the license agreement).
#10
HappyGD
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- Designer
- 2731 posts
Moderator
Posted 08 August 2014 - 02:12 PM
^^ You don't have to worry. If the version of the font you have is free for commercial use, then you can use it commercially in the future. A licensing change would most likely mean it's a different font version from the one you already own.
Think about it this way... imagine making a free font, then having it downloaded hundreds of thousands of times by people all over the world, and then wanting to change it's licensing? It would be almost impossible to enforce any new rules
Think about it this way... imagine making a free font, then having it downloaded hundreds of thousands of times by people all over the world, and then wanting to change it's licensing? It would be almost impossible to enforce any new rules
#12
vonryan80
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Junior Member
Posted 11 August 2014 - 08:45 AM
Maybe fonts downloaded for free can be used on the design, the font-creator took the risk in making it free for the public to download (it's like a promotion. i think...). Maybe it wont be a crime to use it when you downloaded the font for free before they decided to sell it. as long as you don't distribute your own free copy.
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