Warning: Those "free" SVG icon packs online often have hidden licensing catches

I grabbed a set of 500 icons from a random site last Tuesday for a client project. Two days later I got an email from the creator saying I needed a $200 commercial license just to use them in a mobile app. Nobody puts that detail on the download page. How are we supposed to know which packs are actually free for commercial use?

2 comments

2 Comments

ryan6532d ago

Happens with everything now - fonts, stock photos, even code snippets. People hide the real cost in the fine print and hope you don't check.

coleman.christopher2d ago

Got scammed by a font license last month myself. Paid for a "personal use" font, used it on a client project, and next thing I know they're sending me a $500 invoice for commercial use. I felt like the biggest clown reading that fine print knowing full well I skipped right past it. Guess that's what I get for thinking $29 was too good to be true for a whole typeface family. Now I triple check every single license agreement before I even download anything which is honestly exhausting but necessary.