2009
Remember to read TOUs
Remember that most designers do not allow people to redistribute their kits in any way, even as a freebie. If you look in my TOU you will see…
No commercial use is allowed. You may NOT sell, share, or distribute my products in it’s original or altered form. You may not make copies except for backup purposes. If you share your work online you must give credit. Any other use will be considered infringement on the copyright laws.
People try to use the excuse that it’s free advertising, giving out my products for free is not helping me, but it is helping the person giving it away. Freebies always attract more readers, which is my people give them out. So in reality it’s just stealing to get more traffic but they justify as exposure or free advertising. I do have a VERY VERY strict policy against pirates and that is that I WILL NOT tolerate them no matter what!
Plus I do use some commercial use products that I purchased and some do not allow to be used in web design or in freebies, so if you give out my kit for free, even altered, you are also breaking their TOU.
I post this now because someone who purchased one of my kits decided to make a blog template with it and then give it out for free. I have asked her to remove it and she has to agree to do so although she does not understand why I am so upset about it.
NOTE: I do offer blog and website designing, so her using my products to make a blog template is also infringing on my business. Why would someone want to hire me if they can get a template free using my designs? However this is not the main reason I am against her using my designs. I just do not like it when people steal.
To find out more about piracy check out the blog linked below…
What is Piracy? and Why It’s Not OK To Share Freebies
created by Kim Hill of CGEssentials
From: Mary
http://www.thesweetbookshelf.blogspot.com
If she got your kit for free or paid for it…shouldn’t she be allowed to do with it what she wants as YOU gave it to that person for free? Or they paid for it, and the right to use it….
so why do you sell or give them away? If you decide what people do with it after you give it away or use it? I don’t understand. I really don’t. It seems kind of stingy and controlling.
From: Candace
http://spot-design.net
@Mary: When I design a kit I own the design. I sell it for others to use for their own use. If they give it to someone else then that person will not buy the kit from me. It’s the same as copying movies or music and giving it to a friend.
Or if you were to give a photo to a friend of your kids, would that give them the right to use that photos to make advertising? No it wouldn’t because you own the rights to that photo, you give it to your friend for their own personal use.
It does not matter if a kit is free or paid for, you can not use it for anything other than personal use without a commercial use license or permission from the designer.
You should read this article to find out why you cannot share your digi scrap kits in any form: What is Piracy? and Why It’s Not OK To Share Freebies
btw it’s not being controlling, it’s the copyright law and it’s our livelihood that gets stolen when people break these laws.
Leave a Comment