11/10/2022 0 Comments Copyright free fontsBut the moment you try to put that meme on a T-shirt and sell it for profit, that's where things get tricky. If you want to use it for your own personal documents, in Microsoft Word, or creating memes to share on social media, that counts as personal use. You cannot use this font in any kind of product, including in an e-book, a book cover, or a logo. This means that you can use the font for anything you want as long as it remains in your personal use. Copyright free fonts license#There are a variety of font license types, as you can see in the Times New Roman example above, but most of the fonts that you encounter online will fall into one of three categories: General Types of Font Licenses You Should Look Out For See this page for a decent breakdown of the different licenses for Times New Roman. Some of the other licenses could be useful as well. If you read the fine print, it’s the “Desktop Font License” that allows you to use Times New Roman in print publications, which would allow you to use this font on KDP Print or IngramSpark. This gives you access to all of its different licenses, including: Instead, you need to visit a reputable font marketplace, purchase a license that allows you to use Times New Roman in digital or print publications, and only then could you use it legally.Īs of this writing, the Times new Roman license costs $340 through, or $210 on. If you wanted to use Times New Roman in a print book or on your book cover, you could not do it for free, even though it is included in Microsoft Word. So make sure that whatever license you buy, it includes print publications as part of it.įor example, most of us know the basic fonts provided by Microsoft Word, such as Times New Roman. In this, font is like a stock photo. You can purchase a stock photo for your book cover, but you need to check the fine print to ensure you bought the correct license to sell it. There are many companies out there that earn their revenue by creating and selling fonts – think of it like word art. In some cases, they will make it free in a certain way so people can see them and find them. Creating a font from scratch, however, is much easier said than done. What this means is that you could basically recreate a typeface from scratch and name it something completely different, and in most cases, you could use it. In addition, a font name can also be trademarked so you can't always use the name. However, they can be eligible for patent protection through a design patent. So for simplicity's sake, we will use both terms interchangeably.Ĭan fonts be copyrighted? In the United States, fonts are protected under copyright. However, most people use “font” to refer to the typeface as well. So in this case, if you had an italicized 12 point Times New Roman style, Times New Roman would be the typeface, and its individual variation (in this case 12 point size and italics) would be the font. This includes different sizes, bolding, and other stylistic variations. Font vs Typeface: What is a Font Really?Ī common mistake people make is the use of the word font. When most people say font what they actually mean is typeface. So, to help us all be on the same page, here is a quick breakdown between a font and typeface.Ī typeface is the individual lettering design that serves as the basis for all of the individual fonts within that design.Ī font is the specific computer program for each variation of every typeface. If you haven’t checked out Atticus, you can see it here. If you use Atticus to format your books, rest assured all fonts in Atticus has been checked by a lawyer and are safe to use. Copyright free fonts how to#So, in order to protect yourself, it’s best to have an understanding of font copyright laws, how to figure out if your font is allowed to be used, and if necessary, how to purchase the rights to use a font. However, I do think that going forward, we authors should take care to be compliant, and choose fonts that we can absolutely use. This includes fonts in the book, chapter title, or even on your book cover. The only major court case that I found was against a major company and involved a Harry Potter font. If you use Times New Roman in your print book without a license, the chances of you getting sued are slim. That means that if an author isn’t careful, they could choose a font from their Word or other writing software, like Times New Roman, that isn’t legally allowed to be put in a print product without an extra paid license. Some fonts, while free to use personally or in other electronic forms, have extra requirements or copyright rules if you are to put it on a physical product…like a book. Did you know that just because a font came with your computer or Word doesn’t mean you can use it in your physical print book?
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