Fonts and copyright issues
I have always wondered what the implications are in using a font on your site. Since I own a mac can I just use any font that comes with and create an image and use it on my site. Does owning a Mac or PC or any other machine for that matter give me the right to use the system fonts? I never had to face any sort of copyright issues but I just got thinking the other day and started researching a little bit and it’s quite straight forward.
The person who creates the font is the rightful owner and it’s up to him to let it be used freely or license it out. Every font actually has different sorts of licenses attached to it. The fonts that come with your Mac or PC are licensed to be used on that machine. Let us say if you want to use the same fonts and put them on the server then they are not licensed to be used there which means to put them on the server requires one to buy a license for it.
However, if you create an image using a font on your system and then use it as your logo then are you breaking any copyright laws? Once you have created a graphic using the font you are the owner of the graphic and are using(or distributing) it as a graphic and not as a font. But, be aware that this depends from font to font and one should read the terms and conditions of the license before using it. It does get a bit complicated, I must say. Anyways, while researching I found a really nice site with a collection of fonts that one can use and majority of them do not have a hefty price tag attached to them.
Please make sure you consult a lawyer regarding any complex copyright issues to protect yourself from massive payouts later.