Font Licenses?
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- boobs
Who, besides House Industries, won't allow their fonts to be used embedded in Flash files?
- sixfngers0
they allow it they just ask you to pay for it.
Q: Do you allow embedding in Flash?
A: We make this call on a case by case basis. Generally, we allow embedding if the text is static, but we charge a flat embedding fee that is oulined on our pricing page.Web Embedding Fees
Web embedding for generating read-only dynamic text (examples: Flash or CSS): $750 per font or $3750 per collection.- those q and a are straight from house industries licensing page http://www.houseind.…sixfngers
- boobs0
I understand that House will allow it if you pay substantial additional fees, which they decide upon. In the interests of concision, and to keep this thread from turning into a legal forum, I didn't point that out in the OP.
But, since it can't be avoided, here's my situation: I mainly build Flash sites. I work almost entirely by myself. Thus, I don't want to have on my computers any fonts that I can't freely use in my Flash files. (I simply can't be fucking around looking at licenses every time I build something.)
So, since House has restrictions that they want to talk about for every single use, their fonts are off my list. I won't buy from them. Too much dickery. Also found out Blambot has similar restrictions.
What I'm trying to find out is: who can I buy fonts from?
Who will allow you, once you've spent substantial dosh on their fonts, to use them freely in Flash files?
- ********0
that's crazy talk!
- boobs0
Frankly, I don't understand the technical reasons for these restrictions on Flash embedding.
I mean, I could get a House Industries font, and use it to print say, a billion napkins for a restaurant chain, with no additional charges.
What is so special about embedding something in a Flash file that it falls into a whole other usage category? Is it that easy to swipe a font just because it's embedded in the .swf? Is that what they're worried about? (And, you know, practically speaking, no one embeds the whole character set of the font--just the ones they use.)
- The "special" thing is they have a way of selling the same thing to you again.raf
- you can't extract a font from napkins, swf: no problemo.jimbojones
- ding ding ding!version3
- google trends says "archer swf" is now most wanted, hmmmmmjimbojones
- raf0
Not exactly what you're looking for, but worth bookmarking in case the list grows to contain some good looking ones http://webfonts.info/wiki/index.…
- typist0
if you are a regular in the font exchange forum, you know there are ppl have enuff time to collect diff swf just to rip out the font, not to mention font in pdf is their target as well
- boobs0
Do the font shops put such restrictions on PDF usage? Do you have to pay an additional fee to embed a font into a PDF?
Do you have to contact the font shop each time you do it to ask permission?
- you can restrict font embedding technically. it doesn't work with flash though, hence EULA bullshit.jimbojones
- plus they don't even want you to send the fonts to printers, etc when outputting jobs********
- you can't embed them, you can't send them, you can't have them on your iMac AND your MacBook. paranoidjimbojones
- typist0
Can I use fonts to make PDFs?
Because PDFs embed a large portion of a font's sourcecode within themselves, their distribution poses a profound security risk for font developers. In order to balance these risks against the format's usefulness to designers, we distinguish between two kinds of PDFs:
— Workflow PDFs, which are those used to prepare artwork for reproduction. Workflow PDFs are transmitted individually, on a one-to-one basis, over closed networks. A layout that a designer e-mails to a printer is an example of a Workflow PDF.
— Public PDFs, which are those shared with the public. Public PDFs are broadcast widely, on a one-to-many basis, over open networks. A document posted to your website for general download is an example of Public PDF.
Our end-user font licenses allow only the production of Workflow PDFs, not Public PDFs. For organizations that need to circulate PDFs more widely, we offer an Embedding License as a supplemental product. For more information, please contact our sales office at .
- for that exact reason there are originals (and not PDF rips) of HFJ fonts online within days of release.jimbojones
- boobs0
So, font designers don't want their fonts used on the web where people can see them?
- version30
they don't want them embedded into some document that it can be extracted from, therefore making it easy to pirate
- But they can be extracted from PDFs!boobs
- and there are licenses for that too, read your agreement next time you buy a fontversion3
- if you actually buy fonts ;)version3
- pdfs are so widely used, a small foundry just can't afford to restrict you there. look what HFJ say though...jimbojones
- boobs0
I mean, if they don't figure out how to accommodate real web usage, won't they font designers go the way of the linotype machine and the newspaper?
- version30
every major city still has a paper being delivered door to door, quality has staying power
- ukit0
Sorry but boob is 100% right on this. It's just silly.
If a font embedded in Flash poses a risk, why allow it to be used in that way at all? Putting a higher price on something because of the possibility it could be pirated is a pretty convoluted line of reasoning.
I could just as easily buy a font and post it online somewhere. That would be a hell of a lot easier than trying to extract a font from a SWF.
- version30
the argument here is ease of use it seems, not just use.
we are all free to make raster images of the words we want to see in a particular face, the only complaint here is that it is not yet simple enough for you to select faces as simply as times, georgia helvetica etc.
in comparison to a paper, it would take a scanner and some work to regenerate a font to appear as it does in print, however digitally, it takes a piece of software to extract the dataa link regarding licenses on the creation side of the discussion
http://scripts.sil.org/cms/scrip…fonts are software, allowed on one computer only, if digital distribution would have that on a server, or even temporarily on a users/visitors computer for the use of rendering your webpage in a custom face, you are then breaking your agreement during purchase
- jimbojones0
honest buyers will always pay for pirates.
- version30
jimbos statement reminds me of the gun fanatics, the ones that want to make it illegal for me to own my legal gun because someone committed a crime with an illegal gun
- ukit0
I understand the conceptual basis for it (font is a program) but I think it's a pretty shakey one. Couldn't this same general argument be applied to lots of things? Like a Flash SWF itself for instance.
Hey, why doesn't Adobe start charging us a licensing fee on a per project basis for commercial projects? Why doesn't the organization that came up with JQuery start charging a fee? I mean, according to the font foundry logic, they will make tons more profit this way, right?
- jimbojones0
version, if there would be no piracy, foundries wouldn't have to digitally sign the fonts, come up with stupid installers, write incredibly long EULAs, restrict the use everywhere... need Frutiger Next? Just GOOGLE it. I can understand why foundries do that, I hate it and I will do what I want as long as they aren't looking, but if there's a slight chance of being caught I have to play by their rules. Boobs has the best solution: he doesn't like their rules, so he doesn't buy their fonts.