Usage rights are complicated, and I am not a lawyer, but I recently had a client who wanted to use a simple font for their logo. They had not purchased the font, but gotten it with their Microsoft Word software. Could they legally use the font to create their logo?
Unfortunately, this is not a clear black and white issue.
Fonts.com said this: A typical desktop font EULA (End User License Agreement) will allow you to install the font on your computer for use with authoring tools including word processors, design tools and other applications that permit font selection. Fonts can also be used for creation of print documents, static images (JPEG, TIFF, PNG) and logos. The cost of a desktop font license is determined by the number of workstations on which the font is to be used.
Then, there is also this article by MyFonts.com: Usage in a logo
Generally, it seems good practice to make sure you have purchased a license for a font before you use it for a logo, and look into the license for that specific font, once you have chosen it. The font that I was looking at was only $35 for the font, so that was a small price to pay to ease my legal fears.
Do you have more info on the legal use of fonts? I’d love to hear it!
Leave a Reply