I'm a bit confused about the laws applied to web fonts. I know that it's OK to use fonts like Arial, Times Romans, Georgia, etc...I think it's illegal to use other commercial fonts. Are there websites that provide free fonts? If there are.
Can I just use them directly without mentioning the creator of the free font or without linking the page where I download them? or I have to?
How can I use fonts on the web if I'm not allowed to redistribute them in digital form?
Answer
Be careful with "free" fonts on the web. Many are just copies of protected fonts with their copyright notices removed.
If you want to make sure, buy a font from one of the large foundries like fonts.com or myfonts.com. Make sure you read their license. For example, if you buy a font, you are almost always free to use it in print products, on graphics on your web site, etc., but you are almost never allowed to re-distribute a digital version of the font, not even to display it on your web site using Tools like sIFR. If you want to make sure, and big things are at stake, make sure and contact the font vendor first.
There are genuine free fonts (they also come with a license but should be much more permissive than commercial fonts). Check out Ray Larabie's works for example, the Open Font library or the League of Movable Type.