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if i purchase a font can i use it commercially?

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3.8K views 7 replies 2 participants last post by  lyndsay_kay  
#1 ·
If I purchase a font online am I free to use it commercially? Like for my company name in the logo? I can't find much information about this font: Engravers MT

Here's the info I found online:
Year: 1924
Copyright: Monotype Classic Fonts
Publisher: Monotype

I can purchase it at fonts.com and a couple other places but it doesn't specify what kind of "use" it allows (personal or commercial).

Any suggestions or help?
 
#3 ·
my last thread i wasn't sure who i needed to contact and what i needed to do. i apologize if this should be in the same thread i just thought it was a bit different.

the font i'm talking about now is something i didn't have to download. it was already loaded on Word. when i go into the font info it says it's copyrighted to Microsoft but since i have an older version it says from 1993-1999.

i can't find much info on the Engravers MT font anywhere other than what i posted. where do i find the license agreement? the original font designer is dead.
 
#5 ·
when i go into the font info it says it's copyrighted to Microsoft but since i have an older version it says from 1993-1999.
That's just a generic notice that covers all content; it's a from date, indicating the range in which the work was done. Most large corporations will use a range like that, rather than keeping on top of displaying the exact date of every piece of property they own.

where do i find the license agreement?
The font licensing agreement may be incorporated into the overall software licensing agreement.

It should be licensed for full commercial use.

the original font designer is dead.
It doesn't really matter. One, because copyright lasts past the author's death, and two because most modern implementations of older fonts (e.g. Garamond) are re-done by the company using them - meaning they're a new derivative work with a new copyright date.

I am not aware of any limitations on fonts that come with typical software packages though (which doesn't mean I'm right... but if there are, there'd be a lot of surprised graphic designers out there :)).
 
#8 ·
in case anyone else had the same question or was wondering about purchasing a font, i got this info directly from Monotype Imaging (company that owns many of the fonts you see on Word). i contacted them and got a response very quickly:

"A standard font license allows the end user to use a font for all print and preview purposes. You may use the font to print any documentation (business cards, letter head, brochures, t-shirts, product labels, etc.) and you can even put it on your web page as a static graphic. The only time that you need to concern yourself with additional licensing is if you plan on putting the font on a web page and allow customers to type in that font (this means that those customers are accessing the font data themselves every time they select a key on their keyboard and the font you purchased appears on the page in front of them) or if you are doing something like embedding the font in a piece of software."