Yeah, I know … Impact, it’s overused, amateurish yadda, yadda. It’s not my choice. Someone I know wants to use it in their logo which will be used on business cards and their non-profit website. The question is: does it require a commercial license for these uses? I can’t find a definitive answer and this person believes they can use it with impunity. Personally I’m not so sure. Anyone?
The only license you would need to use a font is if you embed the font itself – the binary data that describes the actual font, not the Bezier curves that define the shapes of the glyphs – in your finished product. So if you were using Impact as a Web font, then you would need a license for that. But even if you use it in an SVG of the logo, you don’t need any further license.
Walter
On Oct 7, 2013, at 5:37 PM, Todd wrote:
Yeah, I know … Impact, it’s overused, amateurish yadda, yadda. It’s not my choice. Someone I know wants to use it in their logo which will be used on business cards and their non-profit website. The question is: does it require a commercial license for these uses? I can’t find a definitive answer and this person believes they can use it with impunity. Personally I’m not so sure. Anyone?
Absolutely. It’s called “exhaustion” in legal terms. You bought the font once, you can use it wherever you like to print things (or the nearest equivalent) but you cannot re-sell the font itself and make money from it as a product.
Walter
On Oct 7, 2013, at 6:01 PM, Todd wrote:
Ok, so they can go ahead and print 1k business cards with Impact in their logo with no worries?
T.
But even if you use it in an SVG of the logo, you don’t need any further license.
I’m “away” for a few days and you guys start talking about the most
interesting stuff. Walter, I’m impressed with your graphic legal knowledge
and amazed that anyone else has bothered to learn this arcane stuff.
Todd, you need to skirt the edges of the law more often
