Post #1185360
2026-03-18 17:40 UTC
hi everyone—I have a few notes on type licensing from within an industry: medical (US)
(my company makes custom wheelchair cushions for people who live in their chair 24/7)
1) font licensing for these folks, unaccustomed to thinking about it, is very weird. nobody understands why some but not all foundries charge based on licensee's size. for seat-based licenses, none of them understands why they should buy for the number of users when there is no material difference in what they download. none of them understand why an OEM license exists.
2) there's zero understanding of why a font file from a craftsperson is any different from a free font.
this was pretty eye-opening for me—thought it might be helpful to you folks
Replies (3)
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@xotypeco@typo.social 2026-03-18 17:41
I personally feel like these are just communication issues that could be addressed during the shopping and purchansing experience—but they're issues I'd never heard before first-hand
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@simoncozens@typo.social 2026-03-18 17:44
@xotypeco I guess per-seat licensing is also pretty confusing for a cushion company.
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@jesserewing@mastodon.social 2026-03-18 21:36
@xotypeco Would it be helpful at all to explain that it’s software? Something like Microsoft Office, where they’re familiar with having to pay for a certain number of users/seats.