Yes you can but you need to ensure the following:

• You have a desktop license
• Your product must be in static rasterised format (non transparent png or jpg). PDFs (vector format) is not allowed unless the file has been fully rasterised.
• It is not a template that your customer can personalise using the font (Nicky does not allow or offer SaaS/Server licensing).
• It has taken time, effort and skill to produce.
• You are not using one or more individual letters as a distinct item such as a digital stamp. 

An EPub license is a license for securely embedding the licensed asset into a single title electronic document or publication, allowing You the licensee to write out Titles and Headings etc, which is then distributed to Your end users, whether it is for personal or commercial projects.

The EPub license is complex and the following needs to be carefully considered:

1. An end user in this case is not a service provider (for example a printer) or a collaborator (for example an Editor proofing a book). You do not require an EPub license in either case provided that You have a standard desktop license and the document containing the embedded licensed asset:
   1. Does not allow the collaborator or service provider access to the licensed asset, the licensed asset must be securely embedded in such a way that it cannot be extracted by an end user.
   2. Does not allow the collaborator or service provider to alter the text (or outline of the text) using the licensed asset.
   3. Is for internal proofing or review purposes only and the licensed asset will not be embedded in the final product that is distributed to end users.
2. The licensed asset must be securely embedded into the electronic document such that it cannot be accessed or extracted from the electronic document by an end user, service provider or collaborator.
3. Only You, the licensee, can access the licensed asset and alter or modify the text (or outline of the text) using the licensed asset.
   1. End Users, Service Providers and Collaborators may not alter or modify the text (or outline of the text) of the licensed asset and have no rights to the licensed asset.
4. An EPub license is a per title license. This means that each distinct publication will require it's own license, except as follows:
   1. Versions of a distinct publication do not require their own EPub license.
5. The following formats are allowed: PDF, EPUB 2, EPUB 3 and KF8.
6. The Epub is a single seat and single title license. I.e. You cannot install the licensed asset on all employees workstations to proof a document. The licensed asset can be installed on a single workstation and then be embedded for circulation and proofing.
7. The Epub license offered by nickylaatz.com includes a single desktop license (1 seat) for cover art and graphics.

The work around
If you do not want to purchase an EPub license, then You can use the standard desktop license to generate graphic design elements and export them as static rasterised images (png, jpg) and use those in your Electronic Document. This is the safest and cheapest way to use a licensed asset in an electronic document or publication.

The simple answer is no, they are different.

The complex answer is, the core of most desktop (standard) licensing for fonts is similar and offers similar usage rights, but as with all legalese even the most subtle language change could have huge impact on the rights being granted in the license. This makes all licenses different and unique to each retailer.

It is therefore very important for you to ensure that you have read and understood the license you are purchasing, ensuring that it covers your usage requirements. If you are unsure please contact us for nickylaatz.com licensing, or your preferred retailer for their licensing, before you purchase your license.

The desktop license offered by nickylaatz.com is unique and varies from those offered by Creative Market and other official online retailers. Our license, references to licenses and FAQs are valid for our licensing only and provide guidance only for licenses offered by any of our official online retailers and does not supercede the license you would purchase from them.

Licensing is complex and can be daunting and at nickylaatz.com we try to keep it very simple in a "You can"/"You can not" style, which should make understanding if your usage is allowed a little easier.

We have created a license overview page to help guide you when trying to choose the right license.

Please remember that it is your responsibility to read and understand the license (EULA) that you purchase and make sure that you are using the font within the terms and conditions as defined by the license you purchase. You can contact the support at nickylaatz.com or any of our online retailers if you have any questions about the respective licenses. 

nickylaatz.com does not offer support for licensing purchased at any of our official online retailers. Please contact the respective retailers support team for assistance with their licenses.

https://nickylaatz.com/eula

The license error you are getting probably has wording similar to this:

"This font could not be embedded due to licensing restrictions in the font."

This is most likely because you are using a desktop license to embed the font into a document or you are attempting to save your project with the "PDF compitable" option checked, which the desktop license does not allow.

Recent software improvements now allow Type Designers to include licensing restrictions within the font to ensure the usage is within the license terms. So in future more and more fonts will include these types of license restrictions.

Many users believe that in order to print a document, the font needs to be embedded. This is not the case and there are a few ways to convert the font into either outlines or images for printing purposes, here are two examples: 

• In Indesign and Illustrator you simply convert the text to outlines, check out this video to see how to do it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4eF2JPl01_Y
• In Photoshop so long as the document is the right resolution for a printer (300-600dpi) you can just rasterise the text layer by right clicking the text layer and clicking rasterise.

TIP: Don't save the document as flat text, save the document with live text so that you can make changes later.

EPub License
To embed a licensed asset into an electronic document you will require an EPub license per document title. 

Have an EPub license and are still getting this error? Please contact us by sending your proof of license to support@nickylaatz.com and we will gladly assist.

Please remember: You cannot distribute any of Nicky's licensed assets (partially, completely or as part of a composite design) as vectors. For example, if you are using photoshop and create vectors (shapes) from the text you still need to rasterise the shapes before sending out the final product to printers or putting it up for sale.

A static rasterised image refers to a vector based project that has been exported to an image file, most commonly in PNG or JPG format. The export (or "save as") process flattens all the layers and rasterises the vectors into a pixel based (static) png or jpg image file (image.png or image.jpg).

It is important to note that exporting from a vector based App (i.e. Adobe Illustrator) does not normally rasterise when exporting to non image formats such as PDF**. 

Adobe Illustrator, for example, has a tool that will rasterise the vectors before you save to PDF, but it is something you need to do before saving/exporting to PDF (or any non static image based format) otherwise it is advised to export ("Save As") to an static image (PNG or JPG) and then import or use the static image in the PDF.

When using static rasterised images with our Standard Desktop license, you can use the images (unlimited) on your website, in electronic documents, social media and print.

** Please note that none of Nicky's licensed assets can be distributed in vector format.

The quick and simple answer is Yes you can, however it is important to note the following when doing this:

• The end product is a static rasterised image containing the licensed asset as an element of a composite design. (i.e. the end product cannot be a PDF saved from a vector as this will retain the licensed asset in vector form.)
• The licensed asset itself is not the primary element of the end product.
• The end product is a composition of elements that has taken your time, effort and skill to produce.

You cannot do the following with the licensed asset, either in its original form or any derivative (i.e. altered from the original) thereof:

• claim any derivative of the original licensed asset as your own; and or
• give the licensed asset away as a freebie to third parties; and or
• resell the licensed asset to third parties; and or
• transfer the licensed asset to third parties.

When you "buy" a font, you are buying a license (aka EULA or End User License Agreement) to use the font in a certain way. You are not buying the physical font software, just the rights to use it in a certain way. In the same way that you would buy a license to use Microsoft Office. You have not purchased the software, just the rights to use it.

On our site you signup with a name, surname and email address. It is important to realise that the license (legal agreement) is granted to a person uniquely identified by their email address. So if you signup as "Free Fonts", identified by, free_fonts@gmail.com the font is legally licensed to "Free Fonts" identified by free_fonts@gmail.com and not the person paying for or downloading the license.

Your license is active (incepts) from the moment you complete your payment for the license, which creates an "order" on nickylaatz.com and makes available the font software for immediate download. 

Each usage of a Font may (but not always) require a different license and they are all priced differently depending on the rights offered for the license.

On our site, when you are viewing a product, you can hover over the "i" sign on each license to get a quick overview of the license.

If you need more detail, you can click on the license to select it and then scroll further down the page to the description section and then click on the "EULA" tab. This tab contains the license text for the license you selected. in the "You Can" section of the license agreement it details which usages the license allows.

A note about using disposable email addresses:

A disposable email address is any address that we can no longer reach after your account has been created.

As part of our terms and conditions your account must remain in good standing and this means your email address must be contactable. If you use a disposable email address which expires, your account will be closed as soon as NDRs (non-delivery reports) are received and at our discretion this may include the termination of purchased licenses. 

If you still need more help, please contact us for assistance.

This is because most of the time developers who purchase a webfont license need to subset the font. This is a process where unused parts of the font are removed to speed up site performance. For this reason we provide the normal OTF or TTF files.

Our version of the webfont kit is the full font. Which we can supply at no charge to valid Webfont license holders.

Note! Distribution of the OTF/TTF files does not grant Desktop rights. If you need to install the font on your computer, you will require a Desktop License.

If you have a webfont license and would like the webfont kit, please contact us and we will gladly assist.

Unfortunately this use is not allowed as SVG files are vector based files, which you can't sell.

You can only create and sell rasterized flattened images like jpegs and pngs where the background is solid and the image is not extractable.

This simple answer is that our EULA (and most others) prohibit the alteration (modification of any part) of: 

• The Font Software (the file itself); and or
• A bitmap representation of the Font Software (i.e. making physical changes to the appearance of the font); and or
• Creating changes to the appearance or structure of the font and then re-creating the font file incorporating these changes, also known as a derivative work. Derivative works are strictly prohibited.

In reality though we do understand that in many cases the appearance of the font may need to be tweaked.

Notwithstanding the provisions of the EULA, Nicky Laatz, at her discretion, does allow illustrators and designers the indulgence of discreet minor modifications/alterations to bitmap representations only of her fonts.

For example: One or two of the following: slightly more slope, slight thinning, change of weight or a minor swish or flourish extension.

This flexibility should not be confused with permission. The leniency is there to allow for the creative process and that process needs to respect, and not alter the identity of, the Original Font.

You should, whenever modifying the appearance of the font, request approval from us to ensure your changes are acceptable. 

If you would like to request approval or have any concerns or queries regarding changes you would like to make, drop us an email with your proofs to license@nickylaatz.com and we will take a look and let you know.

It is important to differentiate up front the following:

• Static Images (Desktop License) - The font needs to be installed on the licensee computer for use in design and word processor apps. For example an image created in Photoshop (or other image creation software) that makes use of the Font Software in it's design, which is exported as a static rasterized image file (png or jpg). The design could be a heading, a logo or any graphic design element. The created image(s) can then uploaded to a webserver as a Jpeg or Png and accessed via the HTML < img > tag.
• Live text (Webfont License)- This is when the Font Software itself (as a websafe Woff type only) is  uploaded to the licensee webserver to render Headings, Sub headings or actual text on the site using the CSS @font-face selector only. This is commonly used on WordPress or theme based web sites. It allows a user to log in and change the headings or text at anytime through an interface without having to re-create and upload a new static image everytime.

Therefore, if You can create static images and use these images on Your website, branding or on Your Social media You would only require the Standard Desktop License.

However, it has become increasingly popular in themed websites to make use of the actual font rather than images, which makes managing the content much quicker and easier, and therefore if You need to upload the Font Software to Your website to render live text You would require a Webfont License.

In most cases you would require both (branding, socials and your website), see our bundle discounts.

IMPORTANT:

1. Each license is distinct and one does not grant or extend the rights of the other. Therefore you cannot create static images for print, logo or design with the Webfont License and similarly you cannot upload a Desktop License for use on you website to render live text. In many cases, you may therefore require one or both licenses as is becoming more frequent these days.
2. If you have bought a WordPress or similar theme that features our Font Software, the Webfont License that you will require before going live does not come with your theme, no matter what the developer of the theme says on their site! Please contact us if you are unsure.
3. NB!! Neither the Desktop License nor the Webfont license allows the licensee to create digital template products that allows their end user(s) to type with or alter the outline of the text using any of Nicky's licensed assets. These usage rights (Including but not limited to; SaaS, Server, Custom creation etc) are expressly and strictly reserved. Nicky does not offer any of these types of licenses.

The short answer is: No you cannot make any changes without express written consent from Nicky Laatz as clearly stated in our license agreements.


Nicky Laatz does not currently allow derivative works of her Font Software and therefore you cannot change the Original Font Software in any way, shape or form without Nicky Laatz's express written consent, which may or may not be granted at Her sole discretion.

Such a request can be made to license@nickylaatz.com and must clearly illustrate all proposed changes to the Original Font Software. 

It is important to note the following about authorised (or unauthorised) derivative works:

In the event that You have created (or plan to create) unauthorised derivative work(s) or Nicky Laatz were to grant You the right(s) to create a derivative work(s) and upon receiving written authorisation from Nicky Laatz, you:

1. Can create only those changes approved by Nicky Laatz.
2. Can create branding using Your authorised derivative work(s) for your clients and sell these as flattened (rasterised) images, however You can not sell the Authorised derivative work(s) or transfer the license of the authorised derivative work(s) to your clients. They would have to purchase their own license direct from Nicky Laatz.
3. Understand that the Ownership of all derivative work(s) (authorised or unauthorised) vests (remains) with Nicky Laatz. This means that You would not own the derivative work(s) that you create. 
4. Can not claim the Authorised (or Unauthorised) derivative work(s) as your own.
5. Can not sell or transfer the authorised (or unauthorised) derivative work(s) to another party or parties.

I am sorry it is not better news and Nicky used to be more flexible with these kind of requests, but it has caused problems in the past so now it is quite heavily restricted.

Yes you will be required to purchase your own license! 

The developer is in breach here as even if they have their own license, it is non-transferrable (no font licenses are transferrable), meaning that they cannot gift you the font and should have made you aware of that at the time of purchasing the template.

This means that you will require your own Webfont license to continue using the font to render live text on your website.

In addition to this you will require a Desktop license if you wish to make use of the font in static images (such as business templates [PDF invoices, business cards etc]), print and merchandise.

Please contact us if you are unsure about your licensing.

Regarding free downloads of our Fonts:

There is only one legal place to get a free download of a Nicky Laatz font and that is at nickylaatz.com and even then we attach it to license agreement as they are only free during short promotions and or at Nickys sole discretion.

That being said, there are a few sites out there, which are all illegal (i.e. https://www.whatfontis.com), that offer "free" downloads and unfortunately we are unable to prevent this, as they ignore or refuse our take down requests, but it is not for a lack of trying.

Please contact us if you are unsure about your license.

Nicky does not currently permit the use of services such as, but not limited to, FontSquirrel and Transfonter as the font is given to the service under their terms and conditions and when exporting the font the correct security profile may not be selected, thus not providing adequate protection for the font. In addition to this, these services can have unpredictable results leading to the incorrect rendering of the font.

Nicky does allow You, the licensee, to generate your own webfont kit to subset the font, using your own software (not a third party service). But please note that when doing this the resulting WOFF/WOFF2 must be websafe, i.e. not extractable or installable on an end user's workstation.

If you have bought a WebFont license and would like the webfont kit, simply send us your proof of purchase to support@nickylaatz.com and we will provide you with the WebFont kit at no charge.

The answer is yes and no :|

With a desktop license 

You can

• Create static images (png, jpeg etc) using the font and then use the images on your website in a <img src='/images/image_name.png'> tag.

You cannot

• Install/upload the font to a webserver and access it for use on your pages using the @font-face selector in a CSS stylesheet. For this usage you will require a "Webfont" license, available on nickylaatz.com.

Theme based websites
It is becomming very popular to showcase/include licensed assets in theme based websites (wordpress, wix etc). Using the font in this way also allows the owner of the site to quickly and easily change headings and titles using the font without having to design and upload new images.

In all of these cases you require a webfont license no matter what the developer of the theme says. Licenses are not transferrable and the theme developer cannot gift or transfer the license to you.

The simple and safe answer is: No, you cannot.

Nicky no longer grants SaaS (template) licenses, especially those that grant the end user rights. This decision was taken in early 2017 and this license type was then phased out.

This means that Nicky no longer offers any form of SaaS, Product, Server or Custom Creation licensing.


With the above rule of thumb in mind, an individual (not a hosted SaaS app or service) with a valid desktop license can use Nicky's licensed asset(s) to design and create non-editable static rasterised images for use in the static, non-editable, part of the template design.

The detail...

Creating, Using or Selling Templates, containing Nicky's licensed asset(s), as a Product on Etsy, Corjl, Templett (or any SaaS template based app or service) is not allowed!
The use of our Fonts on Software As A Service (SaaS) services such as but not limited to Corjl, Templette etc where your end user can type with or modify the text (or outline of the text) without themselves having a license to the asset, thereby allowing the user to create their own product/download, wether it is for personal or commercial use is not allowed.  Nicky expressly reserves these rights. 

Using Canva (or any other SaaS App (App)) as a graphic design tool is allowed subject to the following:
If you are a valid licensee of the asset and are using the App as a design tool, i.e. as a replacement for Photoshop, to create static rasterised images that are put up for sale on a digital market place where the end user is not able to edit or modify your product as outlined above, this type of usage is allowed.

If you are unsure what a static rasterised image is, please read the FAQ that describes the definition.

If you are unsure about your usage, please contact us before purchasing a license.

Yes you can but with limited rights, please note the following about using the Licensed Asset in this way:

• You are creating your own final (static) products for you (the license holder) to sell to your end user.
• Your product(s) must:
  • Be significantly different than the original Licensed Asset,
  • Require time, effort, and skill to produce and
  • Not derive its primary value from the Licensed Asset itself.
• The licensed asset may not be used in a template driven site, app or service where your end users can create their own (or derivative) products for commercial or personal use. You can however use the licensed asset on the static, non-editable part of your template designs.

The rule is: Anyone who can type or modify text (or outline of the text)  using the Licensed Asset, must themselves have a license to the asset.

Nicky strictly reserves all rights relating to Server, Custom Creation, Product Creation and SaaS Licensing. These license types were discontinued and phased out in 2018.

Please contact us for assistance.

Yes you (the licensee) can use the licensed asset (i.e. font) in a logo, subject to the following: 

1. You (the licensee) have a valid Desktop license
2. The Logo is sold or handed over as a static rasterised image
3. The licensed asset cannot be used as the sole element in the logo if you (or your client) will be trademarking the logo.
4. In general and if you wish to trademark the logo, the following applies:
   1. The logo must be significantly different than the original Licensed Asset.
   2. The logo must require time, effort, and skill to produce.

If you are designing the logo for a client and the client wishes to make use of the Licensed Asset (other than the logo as a static rasterised image) within their business (letter heads etc), they too will need to acquire appropriate licensing for their business.

If you have any concerns you are welcome to send us the logo to license@nickylaatz.com and we would be happy to assist.

The answer is both Yes and No.

For use in motion graphics accross all channels the following basic rule applies:

Desktop License:

• You can: import pre-designed static rasterised images containing the licensed asset into your video editing software, i.e. your logo.
  • There is no limit on the views or broadcast minutes when using static rasterised images.
• You cannot: upload or use the licensed asset within the video editing software to render live text for headings, credits etc.

Broadcasting License:

• You can: upload and use the licensed asset within your video editing software to render live text for titles, subtitles etc.
• You cannot: Design and create static rasterised images for print or branding, unless this right is explicitly bundled with the broadcasting license. In many cases it is due to the cost of a broadcasting license.

Broadcast licenses are unlimited (in terms of viewing minutes) and granted per region.

Please contact me to enquire about a broadcasting license.

Yes you can provided that you carefully manage the licenses you have purchased as follows (but not limited to):

1. The Licensee owns and controls the server where the Licensed Asset is hosted
2. The number of clients accessing the server where the Licensed Asset is hosted does not exceed the number of licenses purchased
3. The server where the Licensed Asset is hosted is a local file server (offline or connected by VPN) and is not making the Licensed Asset publically available on the internet.
4. The server does not make the font software available to the networked users for download.

1 x license = 1 x seat. licenses cannot be shared on a network.

I.e. if you have 10 users connected to your networked server hosting the Licensed Asset: 

1. You will require 10 licenses
2. If only 3 people require access to the font software then you will still require 10 licenses. In this case it is better to install the font on desktop computers.

If the business purchases the licenses, the licenses cannot be used by the user for their own personal use or used outside of the business network.

If you have bought a web font license, then yes you can.

You will need to install the websafe WOFF/WOFF2 files from the webfont kit (we can supply this if you are not wishing to subset the the kit yourself) to your webserver and access them via CSS.

NB!! Please note that neither the OTF nor TTF may be uploaded to (or installed on) a public server.

This type of use is not permitted on the standard desktop license. 

Please contact me to enquire about a server license.

Terms and conditions apply. See the EULA, by following the link.

Yes there is.

We normally grant bulk discounts from 20 seats and upwards.

This discount is considered on a case by case basis and is at the sole discretion of Nicky Laatz.

Please drop contact me for discounts that may apply to you.

One license = One seat = one person identified by, and licensed to, the email address the user signed up with.

If a licensee purchases more than one seat they are responsible for ensuring the terms of the EULA are complied with by each user assigned to a license. The assignment is permanent. For example in a company setting the assignment remains until employment is terminated at which point the seat becomes available for re-assignment. 

If a licensee has two workstations, we allow the installation on both workstations provided that both workstations are owned and controlled by the licensee.

Licenses cannot be shared or transferred.

Terms and conditions apply. See the EULA, by following the link.

Prints and impressions of static rasterised images are unlimited with the desktop license :)

Terms and conditions of the EULA apply. See the EULA, by following the link.

Yes you, the licensee, can :)

You may make commercial products to sell as long as

1. You have a license that is valid for your use.
2. The end product is not an editable template that allows the end user access to the licensed asset(s); and
3. The licensed (or Copyright protected) asset(s) is not the sole element in end product. I.e. it has taken time, skill and effort to produce and is different to the licensed (or Copyright protected) asset(s). 

Printed merchandise is unlimited on the standard desktop license.

For example:

If the end product that you create contains, in addition to your own work, elements from the licensed asset, the end product must be flattened in such a way that your end user cannot unflatten/disassemble/reuse the end product to gain access the original licensed asset(s). 

Non-editable images, text, logos or wedding/party invitations are all allowed when purchasing the standard desktop license :) 

Use in template or SaaS based apps or websites (or any website, server, service or app that allows the end user to edit or alter the text [or outline of the text], without themselves having a license to the asset) is not allowed.

The use of Freebies is not allowed in commercial products and is subject to our Freebie terms and conditions.