I always compare fonts with songs – they're also created by an artist or talented craftsman, so the work is also protected by rights, but these rights can be either sold or licensed. And the font can serve as an inspiration for very similar fonts, just like an original song can spur various covers of it. So the copyright absolutely exists, but i.m.h.o. it's very weak, compared to other works of art.

E.g. simply changing the dot on the i from a caret to a round dot, might not be enough to validate it as a new work of art, but there are numerous similarities:

Story behind Gill Sans vs. Johnston Sans

P22 Johnston Underground vs. Gill Sans

Spot the differences: FF Dax versus Aeonis

Many fonts are indeed distributed as a complimentary part of any software or other service by companies like Apple, Adobe and Microsoft. They have negotiated with the respective owners (designers or foundries) of the rights to those fonts. It's a legitimate contract, with commercial goals, bargaining, terms &; conditions, and all.

Such fonts are often licensed for a certain time or with a certain version of software. That's why you sometimes don't receive certain fonts anymore with newer versions. You as the end-user can still use the obtained fonts, because your usage of the font was probably covered as a never-ending right by that license.

Sometimes these companies themselves own the right to a font, or have hired a designer to create a font for them. So they can immediately decide on their own what to do with it and how to license it to their users, like these Adobe Originals.

Ohhh, if onlyVincent Connare would have exclusively licensed his beauty for Microsoft Bob, in stead of selling it...

The whole economy behind the distribution and usage of fonts, exists since the early years of movable type. So it's a long-standing trade...

Movable type - Wikipedia

Intellectual property protection of typefaces - Wikipedia

Once the creator has sold his rights to a font to a foundry or a company, then he can only make an appeal on his moral right to prevent some one from using a font.


Oorspronkelijk geplaatst op Quora: Does Microsoft, Adobe own the fonts they use in their softwares? Aren't fonts some artist's creations, if so did these companies buy them? How does the font economy work?"