A client of mine is looking to use Futura Std Book as a font-face in their website. Now, I've already generated the necessary graphics, but can I legally use the font to generate the font-face kit for a website? Or do I need to have a separate licence for that?
My understanding is that a standard purchased license of the typeface should be sufficient, as this falls under commercial use, not a redistribution. Provided that you are not putting the typeface out in a format that others would be able to use the resource.
The license language should have the commercial use terms.
thanks, this is where I have also had difficulty answering such questions in the past
in this case, Napalm says "a client of mine" now, if the client took ownership/full hosting of the site, are they responsible for purchase of this font license? as long as they remain a client, the designer's license applies? if a "client" chooses a font used as a logo/branding element, they need the license?
Yes, I would agree. The client (site owner), needs to be the license holder. The designer can use it on their behalf, but they need to own it.
So, when I build a piece for a client and recommend a typeface they do not already own, in their final invoice is a line item for that specific typeface purchase (purchased on their behalf), and they receive the license.
double edit (applies to both my posts) - I am not a lawyer. This should not be construed as legal advice. I am sharing my practice, based on my understanding of the laws and how they apply in the United States.
I would check the language on the font foundry's web site/terms of use. Some fonts/foundries do not allow use on web sites in the form of font-kits yet... this is a big debate in the web world right now with CSS3 and @font-face technologies making it easier for us to have nice fonts on our site.
Foundries haven't caught up with the times in some cases. All that being said, I'm sure you can find a font-kit font that IS web legal and use it in place of futura book (i'm in the same boat, so let me know if you find something).
thanks for the follow-up