Re: Question regarding MacFonts

TaliesinSoft wrote:

On Wed, 30 Jul 2008 16:13:14 -0500, Andreas Höfeld wrote (in article <4890d96a$0$1078$9b4e6d93@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>):


Nachricht von TaliesinSoft:

On Wed, 30 Jul 2008 08:57:01 -0500, Andreas Höfeld wrote (in article <4890732e$0$1062$9b4e6d93@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>):


from TaliesinSoft:

Several years ago I bought MacFonts for something like $30. MacFonts (there now is also a second MacFonts set) contains almost a thousand different fonts. What I want to know is if these fonts are actually free fonts and if so is what I paid for the convenience. If indeed they are otherwise free fonts than I'll assume that I can give them freely to others who request one or more of them. If they are licensed then that is another story.

What exactly did you buy? Anything from http://www.macfonts.com/ ?

Andreas

What I bought is a retail package, MacFonts, produced by Macware, <http://www.macxware.com/site/products/MacFonts/overview.htm>, and available

Do you mean http://www.macware.com/site/products/MacFonts/overview.htm ? Unlike mail adresses, there is no reason for spamprotecting URLs ;-)


Oops, I inadvertently truncated "html" to "htm" in the URL causing the link to not work. But the reason for the embracing the URL in angle brackets is that some newsreaders, Hogwasher which I use being an example, will not link to a URL that isn't so bracketed. Also, the brackets allow the URL to be folded across multiple lines and still be interpreted correctly--again I believe newreader dependent.


at such as the Apple store. The single CD contains about 830 font families and about 1000 fonts, most families containing just a single font.

Character has just made the point: It depends. Are there no conditions of use on the cover or in a readme file on CD? A good idea would be then to browse for some of the font names. If they all turn up on free-font sites, you know what to make of it. Also, check the copyright notices in the fonts (a font viewer or font editor will help you find them, IANAMU).

Andreas


Unfortunately today I don't have the CD with me, but will have it most likely tomorrow. I did a quick check via Font Book and those fonts I examined all had copyright information and were attributed to different sources. What follows is a list of a quick listing of the names of some of the fonts on the CD: Aliens, Almonte, Almonte Snow, Almonte Woodgrain, Alpha Beta BRK, Amalgamate BRK, Amalgamate O BRK, AmericanCheese, Amplitude BRK, Anglepoise Lampshade, Angstrom, Anklepants, Antelope H, Antimony Blue, antiestablishment.

Just now, after having written the preceding paragraph I went to the website for MacFonts and found the following which states that the fonts are for personal use only...

MacFonts is only for personal use and cannot be used on any project you make a profit on (advertisements, websites, books and magazines that are sold, etc.). You can use these fonts on personal projects like presentations, scrapbooks, greeting cards, personal or business newsletters, letters and more.


Yeah, but. All of the fonts you mentioned are widely available free fonts, from different sources. Some are from Ray Larabie's free collection, some from Aenigma fonts, a couple are by Tom Murphy, etc. In fact, the package itself violates the terms of some of the fonts. It offers for sale fonts where the developer specifically says "Freeware - not to be resold". Tom Murphy's fonts, in at east one © notice, says "do not resell (on CD for instance)"

Some may restrict redistribution, but it's a moot point, since they're all available at many websites that offer legitimately free fonts.

It's even more presumptious of these shady packagers to put their own restrictions on the USE of these fonts, most of which have no such restriction to begin with ... but a few of them do.

So you were right in the first place. You paid for the convenience, and de facto, they're freely redistributable.

- Character
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Question regarding MacFonts
    ... What I want to know is if these fonts are actually ... free fonts and if so is what I paid for the convenience. ... What I bought is a retail package, MacFonts, produced by Macware, ... Amalgamate BRK, Amalgamate O BRK, AmericanCheese, Amplitude BRK, Anglepoise ...
    (comp.fonts)
  • Question regarding MacFonts
    ... Several years ago I bought MacFonts for something like $30. ... now is also a second MacFonts set) contains almost a thousand different ... What I want to know is if these fonts are actually free fonts and if ...
    (comp.fonts)
  • Integrating Office fonts with Macfonts
    ... How do I integrate Macfonts with my founts in Microsoft office. ... I have fonts on Macfonts that I can't access in Microsoft Word, Powerpoint, Etc. ...
    (microsoft.public.mac.office)
  • Re: is it kosher to ask for free fonts here?
    ... > You can ask for free fonts, but if you want your request to be Kosher ... that I want to use for a one-off logo replication? ... Troy Piggins ...
    (comp.fonts)
  • Re: ISO free Sans serif Small caps font
    ... is particularly true for free fonts from major foundries and designers. ... MOST free fonts specifically restrict re-distribution as part of ... I'd suggest the Florence sans family, which includes numerous variants, ...
    (comp.fonts)