Font licensing

[Mohammad_Modassir]

Hi,

I have downloaded many free fonts from internet, after i got the "missing fonts" popup window in Indesign which i have rented for one month. Now, i dont know about the legality of the free fonts i just donwloaded on my computer. Can i still use them? And why dont Adobe have a block function that kan give a alert and not install a font if that font is illegal??!

I have rented it for one month, so if i go asking about those free fonts, then it may take me days or maybe week. And then i only have 3 weeks left using indesign before Adobe close the current monthly paid Indesign. So why can't Adobe have a program which can alert and make it impossible to be transferred to Indesign if its illegal????

If there are so many fonts missing, are Adobe saying that "dont use our program if you dont check every simple licence of thousands of fonts and its legality???

[Dov Isaacs]

There are literally thousands of fonts posted on the internet for free download. Some are truly “free” — the designer of the font is contributing their work to the design community at no charge. Others are “shareware” where the font is free to download, but that you are expected to pay a fee if you like the font and actually use it. And finally, there are pirated fonts that someone has illegally posted on the internet.

There is no practical way that Adobe can check the legality of fonts that you download from the internet, install, and use with our software. Since a pirated font file is usually no different from the legal font file and that Adobe applications have no way of knowing where you downloaded the font from and/or whether you actually licensed it, there is regrettably nothing we can do to assist here.

That having been said, if you are looking for a particular typeface and do a search on its name, if you find that the font is being licensed for a fee either by Adobe, Monotype, Linotype, fonts.com, etc., then you can be quite certain that any other website offering the font as a “free download” is doing so illegally.

              - Dov

[Mohammad_Modassir]

Its a double job to compare free fonts for downloading with the paid ones from the multiple sites+++ you just mentioned.

Would i commit a crime/or break any rules or trust if i download hundreds of free missing fonts randomly from internet and without knowing which ones is pirated or not?

[Dov Isaacs]

You certainly would be violating the law in most jurisdictions by simply downloading and using such fonts without ascertaining whether or not you can legally use them.

Feigning ignorance is not a legal excuse.

       - Dov

[Mohammad_Modassir]

How do i determine if a free font is pirated or not? Is their any code in the file to look? Any licence number etc???

Adobe Indesign neither block illegal fonts from entering nor giving a solution on how to determine if a free font is legal or not. So how to find out if a font is legit or not?

Please tell me!

[Dov Isaacs]

There is nothing in the font format that officially accommodates serial numbers or any other form of authentication. (Some font foundries do hide some identification in the font data, but that is not documented anywhere and not consistent.)

As I previously indicated, there is absolutely no way that InDesign can determine whether a particular font on your system was acquired legally or not and that is why it can't block fonts from use.

That having been said, the best way to determine if a “free font” is legitimate or not is to do a web search and see if the font with that name is being offered for licensing by some company. If so, then anyone offering a “free” download of that font is offering pirated goods.

For example, Sabon, the font family you mentioned earlier, is licensed through any number of sources. Thus, any “free” download is illegitimate. Anyone offering a “free” download of Minion, Myriad, Adobe Garamond, Helvetica, Times, etc. is likewise offering illegal goods.

         - Dov

[Mohammad_Modassir]

I got it now! But how do i delete all the downloaded fonts from my computer/system?

I want only the fonts which came with my computer — to be on my computer and want to delete all downloaded fonts.

There is a alot, so i hold down shift+scroll down and then it deleted many fonts — but there are still some fonts remaining which dont want to be deleted even though i follow the instruction mentioend in the popup window i.e "the font cannot be deleted because its in use". Does this mean that its the systems fonts and not the downloaded ones?

How do i fabric reset all fonts on my computer? Can't find a good answer for this on internet. Hope you could answer sir.

[Dov Isaacs]

There is no single button to push or command to issue to delete/uninstall all fonts except those that came with the system (or perhaps also with Microsoft Office). Of course, you could backup all your data, reformat the disk, reinstall Windows, reinstall all your applications, and retrieve your data from backup, but that's crazy!

In terms of the “fonts in use” message, all you need to do is to reboot your system and before running any applications that would access the fonts, delete them.

          - Dov

[Mohammad_Modassir]

I see. Here are the list of all remaining fonts on my computer now:

Do i still need to take a backup now and reinstall windows? — or how can i verify that all of this remaining fonts on my computer are legal?

[Dov Isaacs]

Most of the fonts look like Windows system fonts, but quite honestly, I don't know. Maybe someone else can assist here.

        - Dov