Fat Fonts. Hollow Fonts. Handwritten Fonts. Man, do I love Fonts. Just the same, I hadn't really downloaded any new Fonts until I recently figured out how to create glossy WEB 2.0 text. For all my lust over Fonts, I know that when it comes to commercial websites, one should proceed with extreme caution.
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"You can never have enough Fonts but a stolen Font is one too many. Hook yourself up with Fonts the right way, the legal way. " |
Here's the thing. For every Font, there is a typographer who created it. Typographers need to eat like anybody else and when you go snatching their Fonts without paying for license rights, you're going to get smacked. That's right. Fonts cost money. Like it or not, you can't just slap some site copy on your page using someone else's Font without permission.
Take the case of Founder Electronics Co Ltd vs Blizzard Entertainment. You know Blizzard. They created the world's most popular MMORPG game World of Warcraft. One day, some folks that work for Beijing-based Founder were playing the Chinese version of WoW. Lo and behold, they saw five sets of Chinese character Fonts, that they created, in the game. Naturally, they were pissed. At last report, Blizzard made 1.1 billion dollars in revenue and Founder hasn't seen a dime of that sweet, sweet green.
Ah, but what's that? According to US Patent law, there's no copyright claim to Typeface? Well, that's true. But Typeface and Fonts are completely different animals. Now, if you digitally draw someone else's Font, then you're free and clear. If you have those kind of mad skills, you rule. The fact remains that ultimately, someone, somewhere owns the licensing rights to whatever Font you download. If you're going to use someone's Font, you damned well better make sure you're doing so legally.
You know what those are, right? Core Fonts are those default fonts you see when you open most any web page: Times New Roman, Verdana, Arial, Comic Sans MS, etc. When you create text on your site, using a Font that isn't already installed on your surfer's computer, your surfer's browser software will probably display one of the Core Fonts named above. And let's not mistake ourselves. Core Fonts aren't completely free.
In fact, Microsoft stopped releasing their True Type Web Fonts in 2002 because they got pissed at Linux. Now, Microsoft is all about Clear Type Fonts and aggressive protection of their patent on the rendering technology. While you probably won't get sued for making your logo from Arial Bold, it's definitely an interesting tidbit.
So What is an Adult Webmaster to do?
Well, the first thing you should do is take the term "FREE FONT" with a grain of salt. If you read the tiny text on most FREE FONT sites, you'll see that those Fonts are only FREE for PERSONAL USE. You are not creating personal pages. As an adult webmaster, you are creating COMMERCIAL pages. Just because the big text reads FREE, that doesn't mean completely free.
The safest thing you can do is purchase a license from the Font Designer. That way, you can use your precious Font without worry. Another advantage to licensed Fonts is that they are generally better-looking
with smoother edges. If you're going to invest time and money creating a brand, then your Logo and your ad banners need Fonts that compliment your site. You can purchase Fonts at these sites:
If you're just a small fish in a big pond then you probably can't afford to shell out the cash for Font licenses. One solution is to stick with Core Fonts. Another solution is to use Open Source Font packages. Here are some Open Source Fonts:
My favorite new site for free Fonts is
Smashing Magazine. They have a page, dedicated to high-quality Fonts. They list a Free Font of the Month and also feature articles on every aspect of web design. To get there, just go here:
You can never have enough Fonts but a stolen Font is one too many. Hook yourself up with Fonts the right way, the legal way. For all the legislative hoops we have to jump through as pornographers, it would be pretty silly to get sued for pinching Fonts.
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