Timeline for How do I know I'm buying a font from its real owner?
Current License: CC BY-SA 4.0
15 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 28, 2018 at 18:26 | comment | added | Dmitry Minkovsky | You see I thought Linotype “approved” in some way digital renderings of the font. Or even provided some “official” digital implementations for resellers. If they only license the name, aren’t they concerned about bad implementations? | |
| Dec 28, 2018 at 18:19 | comment | added | Dmitry Minkovsky | So a digital font seller licenses (hopefully) the name Helvetica Neue from Linotype, then replicates it digitally however they choose and sells that result? And you’re saying that in the US the only thing licensed from Linotype is the name. But the digital “implementation” of the font could be anything. So I just pick the implementation I like best from a vendor whom I trust to have properly licensed the name? | |
| Dec 28, 2018 at 18:07 | comment | added | joojaa | @DmitryMinkovsky ah but then you will be dissapointed adobes helvetica neue is a copy of the original font. In fact all digital versions are | |
| Dec 28, 2018 at 18:03 | comment | added | Dmitry Minkovsky | Ah I didn’t know that about copyright. Thank you. I will investigate that further. But of course I am looking for the actual Neue Helvetica, not a shady copy. It really does sound like I either need to ask Linotype to verify the authenticity of a reseller or use a well known seller like Adobe. | |
| Dec 28, 2018 at 17:48 | comment | added | joojaa | @DmitryMinkovsky Yes but you see there are many Helvetica Neue fonts in the world as US does not allow you to copyright fonts, just the names and the font programs. This means anyone in US can freely redraw the glyphs and program them into their own font program, give it another name and be done with it. However same can not be said about germany. Now since your font is known you can just ask linotype to verify a vendor, or choos a vendor you ultimately trust, like say Adobe. How much your willing to pay for the certainty of slight uncertainty is up to you. | |
| Dec 28, 2018 at 17:34 | comment | added | Dmitry Minkovsky | @joojaa not to mention that first you say I need to trust society and systems but then say there is no system! That’s trippy. | |
| Dec 28, 2018 at 17:20 | comment | added | Dmitry Minkovsky | @joojaa I understand that’s the case sometimes with intellectual property but this isn’t some obscure thing. This is one of the most popular fonts in the world. You’d think the owner would be identifiable. I’m not paying some random .com fonts site just because they have an add to cart button. You know what I mean? Why would I do that? Just because a font site has good SEO doesn’t mean they are licensed resellers of the font I want to buy. | |
| Dec 28, 2018 at 17:16 | comment | added | joojaa | @DmitryMinkovsky It is a real answer. There is really no infrastructure in place where I can validate that what i buy is the legally correct owner of the digital property. There is no global registration office that can verify ownership. You can just minimize risk but you can not really know. Hell, until the ownership is validated in court then even the original owner isn't really sure. | |
| Dec 28, 2018 at 17:10 | comment | added | Dmitry Minkovsky | @joojaa I don’t know what what to say to that. Is that a serious response? This isn’t about faith or trust. This isn’t about an interpersonal relationship. This isn’t religion. This is business. I want to pay the rightful owner of this font so that I can rightfully use this font. Nothing more, nothing less. | |
| Dec 28, 2018 at 7:36 | comment | added | joojaa | The trick might be that there is no, efficient, way for you to verify this. ou need to have some amount of trust in society and systems. | |
| Dec 27, 2018 at 23:52 | answer | added | Martin Zaske | timeline score: 1 | |
| Dec 21, 2018 at 19:10 | review | Close votes | |||
| Feb 1, 2019 at 3:05 | |||||
| Dec 21, 2018 at 18:52 | comment | added | Tetsujin | Possible duplicate of Commercial use of Helvetica Neue for web? | |
| Dec 21, 2018 at 18:10 | review | First posts | |||
| Dec 23, 2018 at 16:38 | |||||
| Dec 21, 2018 at 18:08 | history | asked | Dmitry Minkovsky | CC BY-SA 4.0 |