3 ms·

Some features of the license agreement are though. For example, some foundries require you buy a special expensive license in order to use their fonts in a PDF

Some features of the license agreement are though. For example, some foundries require you buy a special expensive license in order to use their fonts in a PDF. IIRC, Hoefler & Co. and Emigre do this (though it's been years since I've looked, so I may have changed this). Their rationale is that since it's possible to extract font from a PDF, they need to pay for any font piracy that results from that. (never mind that anyone who wants to pirate the font would just go and find a torrent instead of ripping it out of a PDF... and there are torrents of every notable foundry's entire libraries)

colonwqbang 6y ago
You may not like it, neither do I. But what you have there is just rent plain and simple, not rent-seeking. Rent-seeking is when a third party uses force to claim profit from an agreement they're not actually party to. For example, you rent a business property. You pay the landlord and agree to their terms. Next week the mob shows up and demand protection money to "keep you from harm". Implying that harm will surely come to you unless you pay. That's rent-seeking. The app store analogy fits rather nicely I think, but it depends on your viewpoint.
- rangibaby 6y ago
  > Rent-seeking is when a third party uses force to claim profit from an agreement they're not actually party to. The agreement is between you and the law in most countries, which says that typefaces are exempt from copyright. The third party are foundries who license fonts to you and charge you more based on how popular your website is.
  - colonwqbang 6y ago
    A typeface is an artistic work and as such is certainly covered by copyright in "most countries". If they were not then why would license agreements even be a thing. If you don't wish to agree to the license terms of a particular typeface, you have the option to choose another typeface instead. This includes the myriad free typefaces that exist today. If you buy something from me or strike a license agreement with me, I'm not a "third party" to that transaction.
    - rangibaby 6y ago
      There is literally an exception in US and other countries’ copyright law just for typefaces. > If they were not then why would license agreements even be a thing. We could make a license agreement that you pay me per breathe of air you take. It’s not my fault if you sign that.

colonwqbang 6y ago

You may not like it, neither do I. But what you have there is just rent plain and simple, not rent-seeking. Rent-seeking is when a third party uses force to claim profit from an agreement they're not actually party to. For example, you rent a business property. You pay the landlord and agree to their terms. Next week the mob shows up and demand protection money to "keep you from harm". Implying that harm will surely come to you unless you pay. That's rent-seeking. The app store analogy fits rather nicely I think, but it depends on your viewpoint.

rangibaby 6y ago
> Rent-seeking is when a third party uses force to claim profit from an agreement they're not actually party to. The agreement is between you and the law in most countries, which says that typefaces are exempt from copyright. The third party are foundries who license fonts to you and charge you more based on how popular your website is.
- colonwqbang 6y ago
  A typeface is an artistic work and as such is certainly covered by copyright in "most countries". If they were not then why would license agreements even be a thing. If you don't wish to agree to the license terms of a particular typeface, you have the option to choose another typeface instead. This includes the myriad free typefaces that exist today. If you buy something from me or strike a license agreement with me, I'm not a "third party" to that transaction.
  - rangibaby 6y ago
    There is literally an exception in US and other countries’ copyright law just for typefaces. > If they were not then why would license agreements even be a thing. We could make a license agreement that you pay me per breathe of air you take. It’s not my fault if you sign that.