How do you know if a publisher has paid for a font license?

Art Grootfontein
Art Grootfontein Posts: 29
in Type Business
Hi everyone. My question concerns the right to use fonts.
I haven't found any posts on the forum that answer this question.

I design fonts that I sell on marketplaces. Most of these marketplaces don't give any information about the buyers, so I can't know the identity of my customers.
Recently I've seen that 2 publishers are using one of my fonts for their covers.
I assume they bought the license for the font, but how would I know ?
How can I know if they have the right to use the font ?



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Comments

  • James Puckett
    James Puckett Posts: 1,990
    You can’t. That’s a drawback to selling via vendors who don’t tell you who the buyers are.
  • Nick Shinn
    Nick Shinn Posts: 2,184
    I’m always amused by the irony when someone from Monotype emails me, requesting whether I know whether a certain business has licensed one of my fonts that Myfonts distributes. 
  • Art Grootfontein
    Art Grootfontein Posts: 29
    Thanks to both of you, despite I don't have any solution :D
    Unfortunately, the only way to sell more than 10 licenses per year when you're an unknown independant type designer is to sell via marketplaces with huge visibility…
  • James Puckett
    James Puckett Posts: 1,990
    Shit, I tried selling on marketplaces with huge visibility and some of my fonts still didn’t sell ten licenses per year.
  • Art Grootfontein
    Art Grootfontein Posts: 29
    Ha ha ha!  @James Puckett
    I took a look at your work, James, and it is good!
    But if you think ILT & Font Bros are marketplaces with huge visibility, the problem is not your fonts :D
    You struggle to earn some money even at Adobe Fonts ?!??
  • Florian Hardwig
    Florian Hardwig Posts: 268
    You can’t. That’s a drawback to selling via vendors who don’t tell you who the buyers are.
    What James said. Remember it is a choice. There are vendors who once provided foundry partners with info about their licensees, but don’t do so anymore. Now ask yourself why that is.
  • Florian Hardwig
    Florian Hardwig Posts: 268

    despite I don't have any solution
    You can always get in touch and ask the font users to produce their license. After all, you’re the IP holder. If it’s done in a friendly, non-confrontational manner, that should be fine. Maybe you can offer an update or a special deal for another font to those who hold a valid license?
  • Art Grootfontein
    Art Grootfontein Posts: 29
    Thanks a lot, @Florian Hardwig I'll try to contact them.
  • Nadine Chahine
    Nadine Chahine Posts: 81
    Hi @Art Grootfontein ,
    You can check in your sales reports via foundry admin if these are ILT clients. If not, just send them an email requesting their license. No need for extra incentives, just keep it polite and professional. They are legally compelled to provide that info. 
  • Thomas Phinney
    Thomas Phinney Posts: 2,848
    Nadine Chahine said:
    Hi @Art Grootfontein ,
    ... just send them an email requesting their license. No need for extra incentives, just keep it polite and professional. They are legally compelled to provide that info. 

    “Legally compelled” meaning what?
    In what jurisdictions, and by what law, contract or legal principle?
  • Nadine Chahine
    Nadine Chahine Posts: 81
    Within the market that Art operates in, it's very likely that there is IP protection. As he is based in France, he can use EU protections for copyright:

    https://commission.europa.eu/business-economy-euro/doing-business-eu/intellectual-property-rights_en

    If they are outside of the EU, it's more complicated of course. But most publishers would want access to the EU because of how large it is as a trading block, so they would want to be legally compliant. 
  • JoyceKetterer
    JoyceKetterer Posts: 799
    @Art Grootfontein just to be clear, if a use is static I don't know for certain that the end user company has a license either.  That is even though we work with no resellers at all but because it is standard for a basic license to permit agencies to deliver work to clients without the client having a license.  This is fine, it's just how the world works and I'd not change it.  That said, it's also why I am insistent that any embedding license be in the name of the end client, never the agency.  

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