Here is the scenario – you buy new computers for the office that all come with an upgraded version of the latest operating system. On top of all that comes with the new operating system – training, compatibility issues with old computers, etc – did you ever think you would have to consider fonts??? Well, what many IT managers don’t realize, or don’t have the bandwidth to consider, is that all fonts are licensed and need to be kept up to date.
Typefaces are considered software which carry their own copyrights and yes, licensing. Fonts are licensed under the terms of their respective applications’ End User License Agreements (EULAs). Dependent on your licensing agreement, any time you update, or don’t update, your fonts it may leave you out of compliance.
Fonts often used by design departments are also licensed by font software publishers (foundries) and using them means paying close attention to the terms of the license agreements. It’s also very important to be sure all employees are aware of the issue – downloading updated fonts from the internet is considered piracy and will surely put you out of compliance. In addition to downloading, files received from vendors and partners that contain pirated fonts may end up on your system.