Personal / Commercial Use ??

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Personal / Commercial Use ??

I'm a newbie to the digital scrapbook world. I love learning and I have challenged myself to learn how to use Photoshop this year. In the future, I would like to create and sell digital papers, alphas, elements etc. I've noticed that most scrappers sell their items for personal use only. What's the harm in selling commercial to small/ homebased businesses? Can I specify small business vs. large business for commercial use in my terms? What are your thoughts?

@Lizzy Ann I have been investigating this myself. I have also been collecting CU items to use. I don't have a desire to actually sell (did that with ceramics in the past-too much stress) but I do want to participate in blog trains/hops. If you read many of the designer terms of use for the CU items, although you can use as CU they do not allow your modified items to be provided as CU. If you are designing the item for inception there is no reason you cannot allow CU vice just PU but if you are using CU items that you recolor or modify the CU terms do not allow you to offer as CU - and from what I have read it includes "freebies." I am by far not the expert but from what I have read the above is what I am finding. I will be interested in all posts to this thread because it is so confusing!

Good questions Lizzy. The copyright issue is very complex and confusing. The DigitalScrapbook.com licensing is here and I talk a little bit about why we've made it that way: https://www.digitalscrapbook.com/support/nuts-bolts/pu-cu-licenses

I created most items for the blogtrain with commercial use items, sticking to the TOU provided with those items, which means I should be OK in offering them as CU. The only questionmark for me is a font I used in one of the journaling-cards. I think I used a creative-commons-font. Does that mean I can't offer the cards as a CU? My thought on this was that I couldn't offer the font 'as is' to sell/redistribute. But now I am starting to wonder if I was not supposed to use the font in any way... Does anyone know?

I am doing CU by request. I will probably say yes, but I want to know how my stuff is being used. If they are making another resource, that is one thing, but I don't like the idea of someone just putting my stuff in their kit and selling it, since I'm not selling it.

I've made my cu terms really easy because of this factor smiley Use it as you like aslong as you don't clame it as your own.. So take a template for exampel: you can use it to design something to a kit and it will be "your design".. But you can't take the template as it is and sell... So the same goes with things i create like papers and elements smiley

Marissa, would it be okay if I adopted your licensing (actually used your wording)? Anything I make is CU, and I was having a tough time figuring out how to word it as this is only the second kit that I've put together and licensing isn't something I've focused on. You got the wording down perfectly.

Designing isn't something that I ever plan on do as a living...just something I do for fun on this site. So, I would only be using your wording whenever I do blog train submissions.

So, the only portion I would use is...
Please Do:
Use the item in commercial layouts, designs, etc.
Adapt and remix the item, then sell or give away the resulting adaptations.
Attribution is not required (though always appreciated)!

Please Do Not:
Resell or distribute the item “as is” without first getting permission from the item’s designer.
Derivative Works Licensing:

Derivative works may be distributed under any license that you choose.

Feel free to use the licensing smiley smiley

Way back when I use to design, I only did personal use because the commercial use licensing was way too confusing. There are some CU4CU design tools out there, but I find they are far and few between. Most CU resources require you to change them somehow and incorporated into another work so that you aren't just recolouring and selling the original CU item. Things like PSD templates need to flattened before selling, and so forth. I've been contemplating getting "back in the game", but then I think about how lonely my husband was with all the time I spent on the computer. He's such an understanding man. smiley

Thanks so much Marissa...one less thing I need to think about. It's the designing that I find challenging but fun...something different from my daily job. Putting together legalese isn't my cup of tea. smiley

There is one thing that kind of bothers me about the CU issue (and there are I'm sure people who disagree with me). Some designers allow commercial use, but they only allow the images to be re-sold in physical form like cards and such. They don't allow using the items - even though they are incorporated into a design or re-made somehow - to be sold as digital downloads. I find that a little weird because to me selling a flattened .jpg for somebody to print out is the same as selling a physical sheet of paper.

I think that one reason this is so bothersome to me is that I got in trouble once for selling a CU item that I incorporated into one of my labels as a digital file in my shop (I had misunderstood the terms). I later found out the the same "CU" item that I bought from the seller was from Dover...go figure.

How do others feel about this?

LoL Betsy: I've noticed the same thing about items from both Dover and Marisa here in peoples kits.. I showed my hubby one just last night and all it was is one of Marisa's papers recolored and they say no commercial use. However, Marisa let's them use it as CU4CU... I found it kind of ironic.. hee hee Which is pretty much Dover's policy too isn't it? BUT, all that said, I'm not a designer so I'm no where near as knowledgeable about all of that as you guys!

Shawna that's funny about Marisa's kits smiley

It is kind of ironic that they say no commercial use for their kit, but from a designers standpoint, they don't want people to buy the kit and then start making other things for sale from it, such as quick pages, or printing and selling as a scrap kit - that sort of thing. It is incredibly hard to come up with a design (So Marisa thank you so much for your templates), but believe it or not, it is also pretty hard to come up with appealing colour schemes - so I know for myself, I would want to protect my work in that respect. I personally did everything from scratch when I was designing and selling my kits, but I don't think I'd have the time (or the stamina) to do it that way these days. So I really appreciate all the tools everyone has for us to make our designs easier. I still like to design, but do it only for my own needs these days.

@Janet Hull- I am not completely sure I understand you correctly but not all CU prohibits designing freebies. Although if it is not CU4CU you would not be able to design CU freebies. Maybe that was what you meant but I wasn't sure.

@Betty I can understand why a designer would only allow physical items to be made and sold with their designs. There is a level of theft in the digiscrap world where people take parts of a kit- sometimes whole kits- and just repackage them to sell. There is also the branding to think about. For a designer who has really unique style, they would not want to make that stuff CU friendly and then next thing you know her style is not unique anymore.

When you describe a designer allowing the paper to be printed so that is the same as selling a flattened digital paper, I find that I disagree. Allowing someone to print it out to make a card (or similar item) and then sell the card is much different than allowing them to print and then sell the paper. The former situation includes the card creator's effort much like the quick page creator in the digi equivalent. Just selling the printed out paper is the same as just taking someone's paper and sticking it in your kit (which is okay under certain designers).

Having said all that, I use primarily CU items and therefore have to follow their TOU. Almost everything I design is at best scrap 4 hire friendly. I wish I had better design skills because when I do make something from scratch, I make it available under a freedom to use license... which means do what you want with it.

I am sorry you had the experience of someone getting irate with how you used one of their elements. Something for me to think about as a designer- pass on the CU whenever possible....

It's all so confusing. I only download CU stuff because I don't want to inadvertently violate copyright, but now it seems like even CU stuff is questionable. And now I'm unclear on the Dover stuff - can we use it to make other digi-stuff or can we not? The way I read it, we can, but now I'm not sure.

Well it has been a trippy day... so here is a little irony...

I opened a shoppe this weekend and a designer emailed me telling me that someone else had emailed them that I was opening the shop and had used a bow from one of her kits. I have a current business relationship with the designer who is accusing me of taking a PU item and putting it in my kit so this is troubling on more than one level. So, I found the preview from the CU stash the bow came from which was in fact, from the designer who is accusing me. In other words, she doesn't know her own stuff. This CU/ PU stuff is crazy!

Thanks so much Marisa for keeping your simple!

and THIS one issue alone is why i will NEVER become a designer... smiley LoL

well the best thing would be to just make all your own stuff... but that is a bit out of my league right now... smiley