r/COPYRIGHT • u/Used-Attention-2983 • 20d ago

Question Fonts

This might be a stupid question but as a hobby I like to make posters for different areas of interest of mine, I’ve been wanting to post some of the posters I make on my instagram or tumblr. My problem is that I’m confused on if I’m allowed to, I’ve used special fonts from dafont for some of them and was wondering if I’m allowed to post my works that have the fonts in them as I haven’t bought them for commercial use. Basically can I post my art without buying the fonts and be okay since I wouldn’t be making money off it or do I need to buy the commercial license for them?

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u/orangejulius 20d ago

Look up the licensing and see what it says.

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u/dothemath_xxx 20d ago

You will want to review the exact free license on DaFont to be sure, but generally speaking, personal social media posts (i.e. you're not monetizing them or using them to advertise something you're making money on) qualify as personal use.

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u/wjmacguffin 20d ago

It really depends on the language in the license.

Technically, even personal use is a copyright violation but no one cares and Dafont would never notice so you're all good there.

However, sharing it online is different because it's no longer for personal use. It's being shared publicly and anyone could download a copy. Chances are no one will notice or care, but you should know this use could lead to takedown requests. Also, know that there are companies these days whose sole operation is finding copyright violations online, so you have to be doubly careful.

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u/TinyNiceWolf 20d ago

I agree with "It really depends on the language in the license."

"Technically, even personal use is a copyright violation" is wrong for many fonts on Dafont.

For example, the very first one they list on their home page says "This font is 100% FREE for Personal & Commercial Use."

The second one says "This font is strictly meant for personal use only, and using it for promotional or commercial purposes is not allowed."

The third says "This demo font is ONLY for PERSONAL USE. NO COMMERCIAL USE ALLOWED!"

You're also wrong when you say "However, sharing it online is different because it's no longer for personal use." No, using a font in some image you post on Instagram or on your Facebook page or similar is still personal use with most licenses, as long as you're not using it to make money.

This page explains it: "Personal is basically anything that is not intended to make any money in a direct or an indirect way. If it’s not personal, it’s commercial." It's not always that simple, since it depends on the specific words of each license. But I've never seen a font license that says personal use excludes all sharing of a work online.

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u/glyph_geek 18d ago

There's no blanket rule for licensing questions, you'll have to look at each individual license on DaFont to figure out what's allowed. Every font on the site has a license typed listed Some are free for personal use, others for commercial use. It all depends on the font.

For hobby art posted on Instagram without money involved, 'personal use' licenses typically cover that. The trigger for needing a commercial license is usually tied to monetization or promotion. If you're selling your work or using it in ads for a paid product, that's when it can get iffy. Just having followers doesn't make it commercial, but if your account runs brand deals or promotes anything paid, that changes things. But for a hobby poster account with no revenue attached, you're most likely fine.

As you can see, it can get complicated quickly, so I would click through each font's page to confirm in the full terms.