Legal and Ethical Considerations Downloading and using a proprietary font without authorization typically violates copyright law and the terms set by the font’s license. Legally, unauthorized distribution constitutes infringement; civil liability can include statutory damages and injunctions. Ethically, unlicensed use deprives creators and foundries of compensation, undermining the economic model that funds new type design. In contrast, open-licensed or public-domain fonts explicitly permit free use; users should verify license terms (e.g., SIL Open Font License, Apache License) before employing fonts in projects.