Softmaker Megafonts Now 7,500 Professional fonts for $34.95

[Diego Puentes]

This company sells 7500 fonts for $34.95.

 

https://www.softmaker.com/en/megafont

 

The Commercial license reads:

Commercial use: Each license may only be installed and used on one computer. Every user of that computer may use the software, but only 1 (one) user at any given time. Secondary use right: The single primary user of that computer is also entitled to use the software on a portable computer.

 

Are these guys for real? Do they really have the rights to sell these fonts? A lot of these fonts have slightly altered names of very popular fonts from Monotype, Adobe and Linotype.

 

Thanks!

[Ralf Herrmann]

Font rights are tricky, so it’s more complicated than ‘yes, it’s legit’ or ’no, it’s not legit’. But I would certainly not recommend such offers. 

[Diego Puentes]

I looked into it a little more after my post. Monotype now owns Linotype and they sell Softmaker fonts through their MyFonts website so they must not think Softmaker is a rogue company. I am guessing if they thought Softmaker was violating copyrights they would not be doing business with them. I will never quite understand why there are so many competing copies, clones of the same classic typefaces with slightly different names. It is obvious that some are exact copies with the same vectors and some have been redrawn but many look the same.

[Ralf Herrmann]

1 hour ago, Diego Puentes said:

I will never quite understand why there are so many competing copies, clones of the same classic typefaces with slightly different names.

It is often connected to the way early digital fonts came about. In the early days, it wasn’t easy to go from phototypesetting to digital fonts. So, companies with the necessary skills and equipment offered to digitize font libraries as a service and as part of the deal, got the right to license (and possibly even sub-license) the fonts themselves under different names. That’s why many of those classics exist under so many different names. But as I said, the details are tricky. Without going through the chain of all those old contracts, none of which are public, it’s impossible to make an informed decision about the legality of an individual clone. But it’s unlikely that such mega bundles from old data have a high quality or pay royalties to the original designers. Therefore, I would not recommend them. 

[Diego Puentes]

That makes a lot of sense. Thank you,

[Diego Puentes]

Over the years I have purchased many font collections on CD and DVD.

Adobe Font Folio, Linotype, Red Rooster (Eyewire), Berthold, Opti (did not know they were a scam). Some of them were pre-internet purchases so the transaction was paper and hard disk. I have long since discarded the 3.5" hard disks and paper receipts. So, I have purchased some of these collections more than once just to make sure I had back up documentation. But the only time I have been confronted by a foundry is YELLOW DESIGN STUDIO. I would advise any reasonable person to avoid using their products. Or you can learn the hard way via litigation.