Font Licensing Guide: Understanding Gurmukhi & Punjabi Font Licenses
I'll never forget the email that changed how I think about fonts. A small business owner wrote to me in a panic—he'd hired a designer to create his company logo using a beautiful Punjabi font. Months later, he received a legal notice from the font foundry demanding thousands of dollars in licensing fees. The designer had used a commercial font without purchasing the proper license.
Font licensing is one of those topics that nobody thinks about until it's too late. But understanding it is crucial—whether you're a designer creating client work, a business owner building a brand, or just someone who wants to use Punjabi fonts legally and ethically.
In this guide, I'll walk you through everything you need to know about font licensing for Gurmukhi and Punjabi fonts. By the end, you'll understand the different license types, what you can and can't do with free fonts, and how to protect yourself legally.
Why Font Licensing Matters
Fonts are software. Just like Microsoft Word or Adobe Photoshop, they're created by designers and developers who deserve to be compensated for their work. When you download a font, you're not buying the font itself—you're buying a license to use it under specific terms.
These terms vary widely. Some fonts are completely free for any use. Others are free for personal use only, meaning you can use them in your school project but not in a commercial logo. Still others require purchasing a license for any use at all.
Violating these terms isn't just unethical—it can have real legal consequences. Font foundries actively monitor for unauthorized use, and the penalties can be steep.
The Main Types of Font Licenses
Let's break down the most common license types you'll encounter with Punjabi and Gurmukhi fonts.
🔓 Open Font License (OFL)
The SIL Open Font License is one of the most common licenses for free, open-source fonts. It's used by major font families like Google's Noto fonts, which include excellent Gurmukhi support [citation:7].
What it allows:
- Free use for personal and commercial projects
- Modification of the font (with renamed version)
- Redistribution of the font
- Embedding in documents and applications
Requirements: You must include the original license text and cannot sell the font alone (though you can bundle it with other software).
📜 GNU General Public License (GPL) with Exceptions
The GPL is a strong copyleft license used by some early Punjabi fonts like Saab, which was the first freely available Unicode Gurmukhi font [citation:1]. However, fonts under pure GPL can be problematic because any document embedding the font might theoretically need to be GPL-licensed too.
To solve this, many GPL-licensed fonts include a special exception. The Saab font, for example, includes this exception [citation:1][citation:8]:
"As a special exception, if you create a document which uses this font, and embed this font or unaltered portions of this font into the document, this font does not by itself cause the resulting document to be covered by the GNU General Public License."
This exception is crucial—it means you can create documents with the font without worrying about your document becoming GPL-licensed [citation:8]. The Saab font is licensed under GPLv2+ with this exception [citation:4][citation:6].
💰 Commercial Licenses
Many professional Gurmukhi fonts require commercial licenses. These are typically sold by foundries like Adobe, Indian Type Foundry, or independent type designers [citation:3][citation:5].
What to look for:
- Desktop license: Allows installing the font on your computer and using it in design software
- Web license: Allows embedding the font on websites using @font-face
- App license: Allows embedding in mobile or desktop applications
- Server license: Allows using the font on a server to generate images or PDFs
Pricing varies widely based on usage—a font that costs $50 for a desktop license might cost $500 for web embedding on a high-traffic site.
🆓 Free for Personal Use
Some fonts are labeled "free for personal use." This means you can use them in your own non-commercial projects—a wedding invitation, a school presentation, a personal blog—but you cannot use them in anything that makes money.
If you're a designer creating work for paying clients, "personal use" fonts are off-limits unless you purchase a commercial license.
🏛️ Public Domain
A small number of fonts are released into the public domain, meaning no rights reserved. You can do anything with them—modify, sell, embed, anything. These are rare, especially for Gurmukhi fonts.
Real-World Examples: Punjabi Font Licenses
Let's look at some actual Gurmukhi fonts and their licenses to see how this works in practice.
Saab Font
Saab holds an important place in Punjabi typography history as "the first ever freely available, Unicode 4.0 compliant, OpenType, Gurmukhi (Punjabi) font" [citation:1]. Created by Bhupinder Singh and Sukhjinder Sidhu, it was designed to encourage the use of Punjabi online [citation:1].
It's licensed under GPLv2+ with the document exception we discussed earlier [citation:4][citation:6][citation:10]. This means you can use it freely in documents, but if you want to distribute the font with non-GPL software, you need to contact the creators for individual licensing [citation:1].
Noto Gurmukhi Fonts
Google's Noto font family includes excellent Gurmukhi support, both sans-serif and serif variants. These are licensed under the SIL Open Font License [citation:7], which means they're completely free for any use—personal, commercial, web, apps, anything. You can even modify them, as long as you rename the modified version [citation:7].
Noto Serif Gurmukhi: ਸਤਿ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਅਕਾਲ
Noto Sans Gurmukhi: ਸਤਿ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਅਕਾਲ
Adobe & Indian Type Foundry Fonts
Fonts like Akhand Gurmukhi (designed by Indian Type Foundry and distributed through Adobe) are commercial fonts [citation:5]. They're professional-grade typefaces with bold, modern designs, but they require purchasing a license. The WhatFontIs listing clearly marks them as "$ Commercial" [citation:3][citation:5].
Commercial vs. Free: A Comparison
| Usage Scenario | Free Font (OFL/GPL) | Commercial Font |
|---|---|---|
| Personal project (school, hobby) | ✓ Allowed | ✓ Allowed if purchased |
| Commercial logo design | ✓ Often allowed (check license) | ✓ Requires license |
| Website embedding | ✓ Usually allowed | ✗ Requires separate web license |
| Mobile app embedding | ✓ Usually allowed | ✗ Requires app license |
| Modifying the font | ✓ Often allowed (OFL/GPL) | ✗ Generally prohibited |
| Redistributing the font | ✓ Allowed under license terms | ✗ Prohibited |
Common Licensing Pitfalls to Avoid
Over the years, I've seen people make the same mistakes repeatedly. Here are the most common pitfalls and how to avoid them.
Just because a website lets you download a font without paying doesn't mean it's free for commercial use. Always check the license terms. "Free download" often means free for personal use only [citation:3][citation:5].
If you're a designer, you need commercial licenses for any fonts used in client projects. Using a "free for personal use" font for a client logo puts both you and your client at legal risk.
A desktop license doesn't cover embedding fonts on websites via @font-face. Web embedding requires a separate web license. This is one of the most common—and most expensive—mistakes businesses make.
If you're distributing software that includes a font, you need to ensure the font's license allows this. The Saab font, for example, requires that if you distribute it with software, that software must be GPL-compliant [citation:1].
Most commercial licenses prohibit modifying the font. Even with open-source fonts, licenses like OFL require that modified versions be renamed so they're not confused with the original [citation:7].
How to Read a Font License
Font licenses can be dense and legalistic. Here's what to look for:
If you can't find this information, contact the font creator or foundry. It's better to ask than to assume.
Free Punjabi Fonts: What You Can Actually Do
Let's look at some common free Punjabi fonts and their actual license terms.
Saab Font
You can use Saab in any document, personal or commercial, without worrying about your document becoming GPL-licensed thanks to the font exception [citation:1][citation:8]. However, if you want to redistribute the font with your own software, that software must be GPL-compliant, or you need to contact the creators for individual licensing [citation:1].
Noto Gurmukhi
The Noto fonts are among the safest choices. Under the SIL Open Font License, you can use them for absolutely anything—personal projects, commercial work, websites, apps, you name it [citation:7]. You can even modify them, as long as you rename the modified version. No attribution required (though it's nice to give credit).
Fonts from PunjabiFontStyle.com
On our site, we clearly label each font's license status. Many of our Premium Fonts are available for purchase with commercial licenses. Our free fonts include license information in the download package—always check the included license file.
What About Legacy ASCII Fonts?
This is a tricky area. Many legacy Punjabi fonts (AnmolLipi, Joy, etc.) were created decades ago, and their licensing status is often unclear. Some were freely distributed; others were commercial. Many were created by individuals or small shops that may no longer exist.
If you have legacy documents created in these fonts, you're generally safe using them to access your own documents. But if you're considering redistributing these fonts or using them in new commercial work, proceed with caution. The safest approach is to convert legacy documents to Unicode fonts with clear licensing, like Noto or our premium offerings.
How to License Fonts for Your Projects
Here's a practical guide based on what you're doing:
🖨️ For Print Projects (flyers, brochures, stationery)
Most desktop licenses cover this. If you're using open-source fonts (OFL/GPL), you're generally fine. For commercial fonts, a standard desktop license usually allows unlimited print runs.
🌐 For Websites
You need a web font license. This is typically priced based on monthly pageviews. Open-source fonts like Noto are free for web use—they're actually hosted by Google Fonts, making implementation easy.
📱 For Mobile Apps
App embedding requires an app license. This allows you to bundle the font with your application. Again, open-source fonts are your friend here—OFL-licensed fonts can be freely embedded.
🎨 For Logos and Branding
This is trickier. When you create a logo, you're essentially embedding the font in a vector format. Some commercial licenses restrict this. If you're creating a logo for a client, either use open-source fonts or ensure your commercial license explicitly allows logo use.
📦 For Products (t-shirts, merchandise)
If you're putting text on products you sell, you need to ensure the font license covers this. Some licenses restrict "commercial manufacturing."
The Saab Font Exception: A Deeper Look
The Saab font's licensing is worth understanding because it's a model used by many GPL-licensed fonts. The standard GPL would require that any document embedding the font also be GPL-licensed—clearly not the intent for a font [citation:8].
So the creators added this exception [citation:1][citation:8]:
"As a special exception, if you create a document which uses this font, and embed this font or unaltered portions of this font into the document, this font does not by itself cause the resulting document to be covered by the GNU General Public License. This exception does not however invalidate any other reasons why the document might be covered by the GNU General Public License. If you modify this font, you may extend this exception to your version of the font, but you are not obligated to do so. If you do not wish to do so, delete this exception statement from your version."
This means you can safely create documents with Saab without any GPL contamination. The document remains yours, under whatever license you choose [citation:8].
Questions to Ask Before Using a Font
- Can I use this font commercially? If it's labeled "free for personal use only," the answer is no.
- Can I embed it in websites/apps? Desktop licenses don't cover this.
- Do I need to credit the designer? Some open-source licenses require attribution.
- Can I modify it? Open-source fonts usually allow this; commercial ones usually don't.
- Can I share it with colleagues/clients? Most licenses limit the number of users.
- Is there a license file included? If not, be very suspicious.
Resources for Finding Licensed Punjabi Fonts
- PunjabiFontStyle.com: We clearly label license terms for all our fonts.
- Google Fonts: All fonts, including Noto Gurmukhi, are open-source and clearly licensed under OFL.
- Adobe Fonts: Subscription-based with clear commercial licensing for included fonts.
- Indian Type Foundry: Professional Gurmukhi fonts with commercial licensing.
Conclusion: When in Doubt, Read the License
Font licensing may not be the most exciting topic, but it's essential for anyone who works with type. The good news is that there are excellent open-source options like the Noto Gurmukhi family that are genuinely free for any use [citation:7]. And for projects that need something special, commercial licenses are available at various price points.
The key is to never assume. Always check the license. If you can't find license information, don't use the font. And when in doubt, contact the font creator—most are happy to clarify.
Remember that email I mentioned at the beginning? The small business owner ended up settling with the font foundry for several thousand dollars—money that could have been saved by spending $200 on a proper license upfront.
Don't let that happen to you. Understand the license, respect the designer's work, and use your fonts with confidence.
Have questions about a specific Punjabi font license? Contact us and we'll help you figure it out.