Proofof Words

Philosophy

Thoughts about our Licensing system

Choosing how to License Fonts is not an easy thing to do. With Proof of Words, we must say that we are fortunate to come at a time when major actors within the Type industry are beginning to ask questions and find new solutions to this unsolvable issue. Our decisions have been fueled by the changes that are taking place in other foundries in recent years. We have chosen to follow and continue to engage in this evolution. If you want to read about the reasons for these choices, you can find a longer article in the Resources section.

We will document here the choices we have made, as well as the basis of what you need to know to License a Font from us.

  1. A License covers a specific project
  2. All people working on the project are covered by the License
  3. The License Owner is the client that commissions the project
  4. The pricing’s only metric is the size of the License Owner’s company
  5. Our Demo License
Read more

A License covers a specific project

Let’s start with our major shift. We have chosen to License our Fonts within the project. Meaning that the License you buy is for a specific project. When you buy a web License in most foundries, you have to specify the domain name of the website to which the License will be attached and on which you will use the Licensed Font. This seems to us to be the right approach, and we have chosen to apply it to all media, not only the web. When purchasing the License, you will have to specify the project for which the Font will be licensed. We understand the notion of a project in the broadest sense: if you create the visual identity of a museum, it will not need a new License every year because the identity evolves. It is considered the same project. On the other hand, if a graphic designer designs a book for a publishing house, he cannot use the same License to design other books or for his own use. This is a way to include the price of the typeface in the initial quote, so that the License Owner is aware that he pays for it and he owns the License.

All people working on the project are covered by the License

This approach allows us to introduce the Work Group notion, which significantly simplifies sharing the Font files. Indeed, once the appropriate License is purchased, it covers all the people working on the specified project. Everyone! The designer, client, intern, printer, and secretary. We know because we’ve experienced it ourselves that once the correct License is purchased from a foundry, no one in the studio pays any attention to how many stations the typeface is installed on any further. And if you have to lend it to an intern for a project, who’s going to buy an additional license for that? Who even knows? The Work Group concept allows to get rid of this constraint and measure by including all the people involved in the specified project. No need for third-party Licenses or extensions whatsoever. You are covered.

The License Owner is the client that commissions the project

Now that everyone in the Work Group is covered, assigning the License to someone is still necessary. We find the License Owner principle thought up by Dinamo very relevant and have therefore chosen to use this concept for our model. The License Owner is usually the client or the entity that commissions the project. He’s the one who will benefit the most from the Font, and therefore, he is the one who has to pay for the License. Even if the designer can buy it on his behalf. The License Owner can be an individual, an agency, an institution or the designer himself, depending on the nature of the project. He is the one that will benefit from the design project. The License Owner is also the one who defines the price metric.

The pricing’s only metric is the size of the License Owner’s company

The Licence price is defined by the size of the License Owner company, on his number of employees. It is no longer calculated on the number of views on a website or on the number of computers handling the Fonts. This choice and the previous one are very well documented by Dinamo in this article. It can be summarized very roughly as follows: the bigger the company, the more visibility it has and the more benefits and value it will get from using the Font. So the bigger the company, the more it will have to pay. Very roughly. And we completely agree with this observation. It doesn’t seem fair to us that a freelance designer should pay the same price for his License as a company with 100 employees, because their income is not the same, and neither are their benefits from the Font.

Our Demo License

Finally, we wanted to talk about the Demo License that we offer for free. We’ve taken a slight twist on classic Trial Fonts. For professionals, Demo plays the role of a Trial, a font limited to test purposes and documents, to pitches. Except that we made the choice to keep all the glyphs and features in the Font. We don’t want to restrict the users, which is often particularly unfair for non-English speakers, who can’t test Fonts properly without diacritics or special glyphs. We chose to trust the users to buy the appropriate License when the time comes for them to use our Fonts. That’s the bet we’re taking.

Secondly, and this is perhaps the particularity of this License, we wanted to be able to offer the Fonts for free to students. We know that times are uncertain, and we wanted our Fonts to be easily accessible to students. This applies to their class projects, diploma projects, self-initiated projects, and self-promotion. On the other hand, if a student is working on a project commissioned by a client, the client being the License Owner, will have to pay for the appropriate License. It’s important for us to offer our Fonts for free to students because it will be them who will come back later as designers if they want to work with our Fonts. We’ve been students ourselves, and to be honest, buying Fonts was not really our main concern (ok, we were already studying type design, but still), and if we’d had money to spend, it wasn’t there. Student life is so expensive already.

We hope to be clear and transparent with our Licensing system. If this is not the case and you still have questions or simply want to discuss it, you can drop us an email at mail@proof-of-words.com, and we will be happy to help you out.

Eula

Download

Preamble

This End-User License Agreement is a legal contract between you and Proof of Words. Please read carefully this document because it governs the use of the Font, states your rights and the rights reserved by Proof of Words. Proof of Words advises that you download a copy of this Eula for further reference.

By purchasing, downloading, installing, handling, using the Font, you confirm that you have read, understood and agree to be bound by the terms and conditions of this Eula. If you do not wish to enter into this Eula, do not purchase, download, install, handle or otherwise use the Font.

This document replaces and supersedes any prior oral or written agreement, proposal, promises and negotiations between Proof of Words and you concerning the Font. This Eula embodies the entire agreement between Proof of Words and you, and cannot be amended or modified without the written consent of Proof of Words. Proof of Words reserves the right to amend or modify at any time, and without prior consent or notice, the terms and conditions of this Eula. Any changes will be made public through our website www.proof-of-words.com. All the rights not expressly granted in this Eula are owned and retained by Proof of Words and, therefore, are not permitted without the specific written consent of Proof of Words.

If you are unsure whether your use is permitted or not or if you have any question concerning the Licensing options, please send us an email, we would be happy to provide you more information or to help you in any way!

Definitions

“Agreement”, “Contract”, “End-User License Agreement”, “Eula”

  • refers to this very document which binds you to Proof of Words.

“Font”, “Font Software” have the same meaning in this document, defined as the designs of the Font together with the Font Software.

  • the Font refers to the design, composed by all its typographic elements whether they are letters, numerals, ornaments or all the other glyphs.
  • the Font Software refers to the digital file that you will receive and install on your computer. It embodies the weights, styles and widths of the Font.

“License”

  • refers to the permission to use the Font on a specified media/medium for a specified project. One or several Licenses can be contracted for a specified project.

“Licensee”, “License Owner”, “Client”

  • refers to the singular person, company, entity, that commissions the project in which the typeface will be used. The Licensee pays for and owns the License for a specific project.

“Subcontractor”

  • refers to any individual using the Font on behalf of the Client for a specified project. It may be a designer, a freelancer, a design agency, a web or app developer, a printer or any Third-Party working on the specified project. The Subcontractor may buy the License on behalf of its Client, but it is the latter that is the License Owner. In some situations, the designer can also be the License Owner.

“you”, “Working Group”

  • refers collectively to the Licence Owner and the Subcontractor or anyone using the Font, and/or working on the specified project.

“specified/specific project”, “project”

  • refers to the project that you indicated when purchasing the License. The project might be produced and/or designed by the License Owner or a Subcontractor working on its behalf. This is a designed content produced or published in the name, or on the behalf, of the License Owner, and on specified type(s) of media(s).

“Proof of Words”, “us”

  • refers to Léo Guibert and Fanny Hamelin

Ownership

The Font is not sold but licensed to you. No ownership rights are granted by this Eula. The Font, its design and any part of it are the sole and exclusive property of Proof of Words and its designers, as well as all associated copyrights and trademarks.

The structure, organisation and code of the Font Software are valuable trade secrets of Proof of Words and you agree to treat them as such. You acknowledge that the Font, and all copies thereof, are protected by the French Intellectual Property Code, regardless of the country where the Font is used, and by the copyright and design laws of other nations and by international treaties. You agree that you will not claim any rights on the Font and any related or derivative Fonts, and will not challenge or contest the validity or the exclusive ownership of the Font. Under no circumstances shall you consider or act as the owner of the Font or of its Intellectual Property rights.

In other words

Fonts are like softwares. In fact, when you “buy a Font”, you are not buying or owning the design, but you are purchasing a License that gives you the right to use it in a specific context.

Installation / Storing

Proof of Words provides Font Licensing directly to you via its own website and does not offer Licenses for its Fonts through resellers or intermediaries.

As you are buying a License for a specified project, there is no restriction on the number of computers on which the Font can be installed. Nevertheless, you must ensure that the Font is protected and not accessible to the public or to anyone outside of the Working Group. The Font must not be installed on a public server. You guarantee that the members of your entity, and of your Working Group, are informed of the terms and conditions of this Eula and that they comply with them. It is the License Owner’s responsibility to insure that all the License restrictions, extents and limitation are communicated.

You may make back-up copies of the Font, for archival purposes, as long as they are not publicly accessible. Copies must contain the same documentation, copyright or trademark, and other proprietary notices that appear on, in or with the Font.

In other words

You can make as many copies of the Font file as needed for the project you Licensed. Backup copies are also recommended, but not on public servers. As the Font owner, you are responsible for the circulation of the Font.

Usage clarification

Licenses are granted to a License Owner to work on a specific project. There is no restriction regarding the number of computer on which the Font can be installed, nor any restrictions regarding the number of Subcontractors using the Font, as long as their use of the Font is related to the specified project.

The Font can be shared among the Working Group, who may only use the Font in relation to the Client’s project, and not outside of this purpose. Everyone in the Working Group must be made aware of this Eula terms and conditions.

As Licenses are purchased for a specific project, they cannot be used across multiple projects, each new project must be covered by the appropriate License(s). A Subcontractor buying a License on behalf of his Client cannot use the Font for other Clients or other projects.

You can buy one or several type of Licenses for your project, depending on your requirements. If, for a new visual identity, you need to design printed stationary and a website, you would have to buy a Desktop License and a Web License. This License grants you the right to use the Font on a specified project, regardless of how long it lasts. This can be for the design of a book during a few months, or as part of the visual identity of an institution, during a few years.

In other words

Our main idea is that the License covers a project and all the people working on it. The Font is Licensed for a specific project, and you can share it with anyone implicated in it. It’s what we mean by Working Group, whatever the number of people involved. We believe it’s safer and easier for users to know everyone working on the project is covered by the License. But it’s forbidden to use the same License across multiple projects.

Permissions / Restrictions

This Eula grants you limited rights to use only the specified style(s) of the Font mentioned in the invoice upon receipt of the full payment, according to the License(s) you have contracted. Proof of Words offers several type of License: Desktop, Web, Social Media, Logo, App, ePub, Broadcasting, Video Game, Merchandising… The Licenses are non-exclusive, non-transferable, and revocable. There is no geographic limitation to the Font, you may use it worldwide.

Unless explicitly authorised in the License you purchased, the listed below are prohibited under any circumstances:

  • modify, distort, alter or customise the design of the Font, even if converted to outlines with the help of an editing or design software.
  • add any character or glyphs, add any weight, develop the Font for another language, create a custom or derivative version of the Font.
  • open the Font in any editing software in order to reveal its structure, organisation or code.
  • decompile, disassemble, reverse engineer, decrypt, temper with or try to access to the source code of the Font.
  • rename or reexport the Font.
  • convert a Desktop Font (.otf .ttf) in a Webfont (.woff .woff2) and vice-versa. The appropriate License must be purchased.
  • sublicense, sell, distribute, lend, lease or give the Font to anyone outside your Working Group.
  • use the Font for commercial uses where the Font, or any part of its design, is the main graphic element; such as, but not limited to, mugs, apparel with typographic characters or slogans, textile, letter-shaped products, tote bags…
  • use the Font for alphabet products such as, but not limited to, house numbers, stamps sets, decals, rub-on-letters, alphabet punch and die sets, adhesive alphabet letters, or any other product containing any image of or derived from the Font.

All and any modification of the Font in any form must be exclusively made by Proof of Words only and you cannot commission or authorise a third-party to do so. Please contact us to discuss any requirements, we would be happy to help you.

In other words

Everyone in the Working Group can use the typeface, regardless of where they are located. We invite you, in return, to respect the integrity of the Font by not modifying it or its data in any way. Please do not use the Font for commercial production where it is the only graphic asset, without asking us for a specific License.

Embedding

The Font may be embedded in Portable Document Format (pdf), PostScript (ps) and Encapsulated PostScript (eps). You are untitled to embed the Font in documents only if they are in a secured read-only mode, as a preview, or as a print view, and that a third party cannot extract the Font or edit the document. Any embedding not expressly specified above or in the License you are purchasing is prohibited.

In other words

If you embed the Fonts in documents, please be careful and share them in a secure read-only mode.

Pricing

The Font will only be made available once you have paid the full price of the License to Proof of Words. You shall pay in euros (€ EUR) only. You are responsible for paying any applicable fee regarding the License sale.

The price of a License is based on the company size of the License Owner, wether it is a single person or a legal entity, and not according to a number of users or computers. The Subcontractor can buy the License on behalf of the License owner, but is not authorised to asks its Client another price than the one offered by Proof of Words.

Proof of Words reserves the right to update the License purchase prices on its website at any time and without prior notice or consent.

In other words

We based our pricing system on the size of the company of the License Owner. We believe this is fair because the bigger a company is, the bigger its visibility or number of potential users. We price all our fonts in Euro (€).

Credits

You hereby agree to do your best to credit and identify the Font name and Proof of Words in the colophon or the design credits of the project, according to the sector’s usage.

Marketing

From the moment you make the use of the Font public, Proof of Words is entitled to use the images, videos, names and credits associated with the project for its marketing and communication purposes only.

If you do not wish to allow us to do so, please let us know in writing within fourteen (14) days of purchasing the License.

Warranty

  • by the Working Group

You warrant that you have the legal capacity to consent to this Eula. You warrant that you will use the Font in accordance with the terms and conditions of this Eula. The License Owner warrants that the members of its Working Group are informed of the terms and conditions of this Eula and that they comply with them.

In the event of a claim by a third party concerning your use of the Font or this Eula, the License Owner agrees to indemnify and keep Proof of Words harmless from all claims, judgments, liabilities, expenses or costs arising in connection with such claim.

  • by Proof of Words

Proof of Words warrants that it has the legal capacity, as well as all the intellectual property rights, to grant the License for the use of the Font.

Proof of Words warrants that the Font will perform properly, in accordance with the documentation published on its website, for the thirty (30) days following the purchase. No warranty is provided beyond these thirty (30) days. Within these thirty (30) days, the Font can be exchanged and replaced if it does not perform properly. To do so, please contact us with a copy of your invoice and any documents/screenshots proving the malfunction. Any replacement Font will be warranted for another thirty (30) days. In the sole event that Proof of Words cannot fix the Font and provide you a properly performing Font within these thirty (30) days, we will give you a refund.

Proof of Words will do its best to keep its fonts up to date, and follow the current available technologies. But, due to ever evolving and changing nature of technology, Proof of Words cannot warrants that it will update or carry out maintenance operations on the Font or that the Font will properly function on every platform or software. Proof of Words cannot warrants that the Font will perform properly on all computer’s operating system. Proof of Words cannot be held responsible for operating system errors or inoperability faults.

Proof of Words expressly disclaim all warranties, express and implied, including but not limited to the implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. It is your responsibility to ensure that the Font is fit for your purpose. Proof of Words provide the Font “as is” and cannot promise that the operation of the Font will be uninterrupted or error-free.

In other words

By purchasing the Font you accept the terms of this Eula, and you must not exceed the uses allowed by your License. We guaranty that our Fonts will perform properly according to our documentation. If you encounter any issues don’t hesitate to reach us and we will make our best to fix it. If we cannot solve the problem within 30 days after your purchase, you can get a refund. It might be obvious but we cannot be held responsible if someone judges that the typeface is not suitable for the project you are working on. We only provide you a typeface we crafted, the choice of a typeface for a specific project remains the graphic designer’s responsibility.

Liability

Proof of Words excludes any liability whatsoever to the Working Group for any consequential, incidental, indirect, special damages such as loss of profits or savings, commercial or financial loss, time or data loss, increase in overhead costs, lack of legibility, or for any claim by any third party, resulting from the use of, or the inability to use, the Font; even if Proof of Words have been advised in advance of the possibility of such damages.

Proof of Words has taken every effort to check the Font for viruses, however it cannot takes responsibility for any damage caused to your hardware, or a loss of income resulting from that. The Font is downloaded, installed and used at your own risk. You hereby agree that the entire, exclusive and cumulative compensation or remedy for any prejudice you suffered resulting from the use of, or the inability to use, the Font shall be limited to the amount of the License price, mentioned on the invoice. The limitation of warranties and liability applies to the fullest extent permitted by any applicable laws and regulations. You therefore agree that all implied warranties are not effective for more than thirty (30) days.

Where the liability cannot be wholly excluded due to binding legal provisions, Proof of Words shall be liable for damages incurred by the License Owner only to the extent that Proof of Words acts in a grossly negligent manner or in the case of intentional misconduct.

In other words

We can’t be held responsible for any damage that could happen to your device. Installing the Font on your computer is your legal responsibility. But we do our best to update our Fonts to have them working on as much configuration as possible.

Minor breach of contract

Proof of Words trusts you to truthfully and correctly present the usage of the Font and to provide accurate and sincere information when ordering the Font. If your use of the Font exceeds any specification on the invoice (e.g. company size), you have to upgrade your Licence.

  • if the License metrics have been exceeded, this is a minor breach of this contract.
  • if you are using an inappropriate License (e.g. a Desktop License for a website), this is a minor breach of this contract.

The License Owner agrees to correct the minor breach within fourteen (14) days of written communication, via email or post, is received. If the breach is not corrected, it will constitute a major breach of contract. As a result, Proof of Words will be entitled to charge the License Owner the full price of the Licence it should be covered by, increased by 50% and/or to withdraw the License.

If the License Owner pays the requested price, it will be able to continue to use the Font but will still be obliged to abide to this Eula. Any other breach not specified above will be considered as a major breach of contract and will result in the immediate termination of the License.

In other words

We trust you to respect our Licensing system and understand that mistakes can happen sometimes! If you use the wrong License for a project, it is a minor breach of contract, and you will have to correct it as soon as possible when we notify you.

Termination

Any breach of this contract or unlawful misconduct will result in immediate termination of the License Agreement and any right to use the Font. In the event of a termination of the License, you must:

  • ceases to use the Font without refund or any financial compensation whatsoever.
  • delete permanently the Font, and all of its copies, and certify to Proof of Words that no copy remains in you possession or control.
  • withdraw all materials (print, digital, application, broadcasting) containing the breached License. No republishing or reprinting is authorised after the termination of the License.

In the event of a major breach of contract, Proof of Words will be entitled to charge the License Owner the full price of the Licence it should be covered by, increased by 50% and/or to withdraw the License. If the License Owner pays the requested price, it will be able to continue to use the font but will still be obliged to abide to this Eula. Even after a breach of contract, you are still obliged to abide to this Eula.

If the Font is unlicensed and used, this will constitute a major breach of this contract. The user will therefore automatically agree to retroactively settle with the appropriate License by paying in full for the usage, increased by 50%.

Proof of Words reserves its right to claim the License Owner for any damage, loss and costs, including attorney’s fee and expenses, that it may incur or suffer in relation to any breach of this contract, and to exercise any other rights and remedies, in particular for appropriation of profit.

In other words

If you use the Font without any License, it is a major breach of contract. You will have to pay the price for the License you should have bought, increased by a 50% penalty.

Applicable laws and jurisdiction

Before any referral to a court, each party ensure to inform the other of any difficulty, by email or registered letter with acknowledgment of receipt, and to try to find a reasonable and amicable solution.

This contract is subject to and shall be interpreted in accordance with the laws in force in France, excluding its conflict of law rules. Any dispute regarding the validity, interpretation or performance of this Eula arises in France and shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the competent courts of Paris, France, even if the breach of contractual rights takes place in a foreign country. As a result, you hereby agree that the application of the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (1980) as well as the United Nations Convention on the Law applicable to International Sales of Goods (1955) are expressly excluded.

If one or any of the provisions of this contract should be declared invalid, void or unenforceable, by a court of competent jurisdiction, it shall not affect the validity the other provisions, which remain in full force and effect. The invalid provision shall then be replaced by Proof of Words with a provision permitted by law and that most closely effects the intent of the invalid provision.

The failure of Proof of Words to insist upon strict adherence to any terms of this contract shall not be construed as a waiver, and shall not deprive Proof of Words of the right thereafter to insist upon strict adherence to this End-User License Agreement.

In other words

Before any referral to a court, we must contact each other and try to solve the dispute amicably. In any case, this Eula contract exclusively refers to the laws of France, even for international sales.

Licenses

Download

Type of licenses

You can buy one or several type of Licenses for your project, depending on your requirements. All the above provisions apply to the Licenses, except if expressly stated otherwise in the relevant License.

  • Font will be provided in .otf format if you purchase a Desktop, Social Media, Logotype, App, ePub, Broadcast / Video, Merchandise and Video game Licenses (.ttf format is available on demand).
  • Font will be provided in .woff and .woff2 if you purchase a Web License (.eot available on demand).
  • Demo Fonts are available both in .otf and .woff, .woff2 formats.

For companies bigger than 200 employees, or on-demand Licenses, please contact us directly, and we will offer you a License and/or custom quote adapted to your requirements.
If you have any question regarding the Licenses, if you think your use is not addressed or if you want to ask us about your requirements, please contact us, we would be happy to help!

Privacy policy

What do we do with your data?

Proof of Words may process your data if you download a Demo Font or purchase a product from the www.proof-of-words.com website for the main purpose of the execution of the License and to complete the invoice.

Proof of Words is processing your names, company names, VAT numbers, postal addresses, email addresses, website addresses, social media handles, project titles and descriptions. Proof of Words is not collecting any banking information as the payment operation is performed by Stripe.

These data are collected and stored for the purpose of:

  • verifying that the use of the Licence does not exceed its scope
  • auditing and controlling the use of the Fonts
  • billing and accounting
  • sending information on new Fonts, updates, services, products proposed by Proof of Words

Proof of Words guarantees that it will take all reasonable measures to protect your data in order to ensure the confidentiality, integrity and security of the data collected in the context of a sale or download of Demo Fonts. Proof of Words makes every effort to prevent access to this data by unauthorised third parties. Despite all these precautions, the complete integrity of the data cannot be guaranteed and shall not be enforceable against Proof of Words.

The data controller is Proof of Words, composed by Léo Guibert and Fanny Hamelin, both freelancers under the French Artiste-Auteur status.

Proof of Words undertakes never to disclose your processed data publicly or with third parties unless you authorise it explicitly. Proof of Words may have to share these data in some exceptional circumstances as listed below:

  • if Proof of Words considers that the disclosure is necessary to enforce compliance with the License you agreed to respect by buying or downloading the Fonts
  • if Proof of Words is required by law, in the context of legal proceedings, litigation or a request from public authorities, to share the data
  • if Proof of Words judges that, for national security or the public interest, the data disclosed is necessary and valuable
  • if Proof of Words is restructured, merged or transferred, it may handle the collected Licensee data to the third-party concerned

You have the right to access and rectify your data. You can demand that the use of your data be restricted or even oppose it, but this will, in some cases, lead to the legal impossibility of using the License. You may request that your data not be used for commercial prospecting by Proof of Words. You may at any time assert your rights by writing to mail@proof-of-words.com or by post to the address specified above.

The data collected by Proof of Words in the case of a License purchase may be kept for an unlimited period of time due to the nature of the License system. This makes it possible to link the License to its Licensee to help Proof of Words control potential illegal uses. Other data collected, not related to the purchase of a Licence, is kept for a period of three (3) years.

Your cart
What’s in your bag?