In recent years, from time to time to hear such a report: how much of a company was fined because the font infringement, the infringement of a movie because of how many words are fine, some do not understand the font copyright intern cause the company huge losses, and so on.
In a recent survey of designing a website specifically about what font infringement, summary for everyone to share, to prevent another fall into the pit. At the same time, it also provides some free commercial font library. End the free font library package.
By the way of an opportunity to write this article, because the investigation of the font copyright thing, it will look when virtually look at other sites or products. Just yesterday with a micro-channel reading, what word you want to adjust the size of the default font even found the use of micro-channel reading is commercial free "the source font."
So that the original understanding of the knowledge of two "points", crash together, it has become a line, so they give birth to the idea of writing this article. Reflect back, reading the letter what the font micro original intention? In any case, if free commercial fonts, at least you can save a lot of money. And personal feeling on reading experience impact is not great.
Font copyright
When the fonts are applied for a copyright, commercial use fonts will need to be authorized, and some even need to pay high royalties. This is certainly understandable, especially Chinese character font design, designers often spend a lot of effort.
The so-called copyright is the exclusive intellectual property rights, if it is public, the passage of the font to use does not involve copyright disputes, such as Arial, Times New Roman, Yan style ...... If own body, and which gives the creative, or by editing and publishing based on generic font the word paste, font, etc., and applied for copyright protection if stolen will be involved in copyright disputes.
Under "People's Republic of China Copyright Law", and works in some of the following situations may not be authorized do not need to pay to use. For personal study, research or appreciation; appropriate reference in the introduction, comments; news reports;; national authorities within reasonable limits the use of performance of official duties; in classroom teaching or scientific research public display, save, show; converted into minority languages and Braille.
For fonts content, personal use, and general public use should be authorized to take automatic mode. As long as a legitimate means to get published font used in the above areas, without authorization, you will not be charged.
字体的使用权限一般分为商用字体、商用授权免费、商用免费三类。商用字体在商业使用的过程中必须购买，比如微软购买了方正的微软雅黑授权。商用授权免费，这一类是可以免费商用，但在使用之前需要先取得授权，比如方正的方正黑体、方正书宋、方正仿宋和方正楷体；商用免费，不需要授权可以直接商用，比如上面提到的思源宋体。
商业使用的界定：商业使用包括以直接营利或者间接营利为目的，将字体作为视觉设计要素，进行复制、发行、展览、放映、信息网络传播、广播等使用字体的行为。比如，在企业宣传、广告设计、产品包装中使用。同时，设计者或产品开发者也不可以自行将「字体」嵌入其他APP或应用程序。
日常侵权
最常见的版权坑就是微软雅黑字体，很多人认为微软雅黑属于微软，可以拿来商用。其实微软雅黑只是方正授权微软在word等办公软件中使用。字体所属方授权依然属于方正。如果把有微软雅黑字体的文稿，转化为PDF、印刷物（海报、易拉宝、banner）、图片等，则可能涉及到字体侵权。
某些情况可能出于美观需要，网页要展示微软雅黑的字体，该如何处理呢？这就涉及到前端css的使用。如果在css中引入微软雅黑字体（font-family:"微软雅黑"），则不会产生侵权，因为只是设定了如果载体（Windows系统等）有安装微软雅黑的字体，则网站显示该字体，这个字体授权的控制在客户端那里。
但在网站样式文件中，打包微软雅黑字体，客户打开网站会预加载微软雅黑字体，则属于侵权行为。
还有一种情况就是字体变形，而变形需要超过50%以上才算是具有创造性，但这个50%其实比较难以界定。单纯的拉高、压缩、斜体、描边、添加阴影或少许变动都可能涉及侵权。
免费商用字体
思源字体系列：由Adobe在线字体库Typekityu与谷歌一起合作开发，字库对中（简体/繁体）、日、韩三国汉字进行了全面优化支持，非常全面。思源字体不仅是个免费字体，还是一个开源字体，任何用户都可以在思源的基础上调整修改出新字体。
The font on the free open from GitHub: https://github.com/adobe-fonts/source-han-sans
Founder series: Founder font provides four "commercial release" for free fonts, Founder bold, founder of Song Dynasty, Founder and Founder italics italics, although commercial, but still require written authorization Founder.
Cool font family station: Station cool high-end black is cool network station nearly a hundred designers involved in the creation of development, in addition, also introduced a variety of free fonts for designers to use.
Wang Hanzong font family: Department of Mathematics, Central University professor Wang Hanzong developed by Professor Wang Hanzong first respectively in 2000 and 2004, has donated ten sets of WCL series sets new fonts and 32 font, but due to the shape and character Annie has a lot of repetition, So there are various copyright disputes, we picked out several fonts no copyright disputes.
Taiwan's Ministry of Education series: Taiwan's Ministry of Education made several, but these three are the traditional character fonts, does not support simplified.
WenQuanYi font family: the source and font families like WenQuanYi is an open source font, and is widely used in Linux / Unix systems.
Of course, there are other free fonts, not in this one by one example.
Then the software practitioners
Font infringement is often present in the commercial purpose of the act, as we did not use normal personal problems. But as software practitioners, if you want to build their own website to create some extra income, you need to pay attention to copyright issues fonts.
For example, when recording video tutorial PPT font, pay documents sold fonts. Font installation is relatively simple, download the font package, installed or not. Then, under normal circumstances the word or the like used in the keynote software can choose the font used. Take preventive measures to avoid unnecessary losses.
Finally, to provide a free font pack, can be downloaded from GitHub link in addition to the above the source font. Other fonts can be public concern number "program New Horizons", reply "006" for a free download. More of a careful, less of a hassle and loss.
Original link: " designers, programmers, beware font infringement "
