Man you are aewsome this video is perfectly explained, very well explained not confusng like others. Thank you so much, i was starting to get tired of watching all the other videos.
At last! A clear explanation of what's involved. Thank you! 🙏🙏 What about the freebies CF give away? Are they subject to the same restrictions upon cancellation? Also how would anyone know the difference in the time interval between Ben and Anna's uploads? Is there a time stamp anywhere on the items? I find it sad to think some people might be so petty as to complain about a design that wasn't even theirs in the first place!
If you grab a freebie, it's like buying it (and paying $0.00). So you own it, you can use it, you can never lose it. Buying any individual design (including freebies) are "one and done", bought and you own it. Great question about the time interval. There's a number at the end of each Redbubble listing and I assume there's some catalog number in there, but ultimately it would be Redbubble's determination on who uploaded it first. I don't see a time stamp on the design itself (but no doubt there is one that hopefully the Redbubble staff can see)!
Thank you I have learned so much from you I get it now I need to go back and check some of my designs am sure I changed but not quite sure I am double checking today.
Hi there! Not sure if I've commented on your videos before, but love them and always find them entertaining and useful - thank you!! I don't know if you'll be checking comments on a video this old, but I feel like I just got stung by Creative Fabrica and thought it might be worth sharing in case someone else finds it useful info in the future. I purchased CF's Graphics subscription, rather than All Access, as I didn't particularly want the fonts, etc. However, as it turns out, the Graphics subscription means you're 'only be able to download Basic POD products, if you want Full POD products you will have to purchase an All-Access subscription or purchase the product individually' (quote from their customer support email). That little fact isn't mentioned anywhere on their sales page, license page, full license text or in their help section. I only found out because I queried why I could only see 'commercial usage allowed' on everything - it's an important distinction, well worth mentioning I think. I'll stop there , as I feel a rant coming on... ;)
@@zenwatercooler No complaints or strikes thankfully - I'm at the start of my 'journey', so haven't uploaded anything yet. I feel somewhat 'stung', because the difference between the plans isn't made clear on their website and it's actually quite a big distinction. In order to use the assets the way I thought I could, as per their email, I will need to purchase an All-Access subscription, which will be on top of the 1yr Graphics subscription I already purchased. Essentially, the Graphics subscription comes with a commercial use license, which I don't think is quite as liberal as most people think it is. It seems to me (and I could be wrong), the only way to use the assets the way most people use them, is to maintain an active all-access subscription. Much as I have no idea how they would or could police their licensing, it does potentially leave 'most' of us vulnerable - even if we've edited assets (to stay within the rules), it may not be enough. I'm a former Digital Project Manager, licensing was part of my job, so I'm probably more conscious of it than most...
Zen, could you please do a teaching on the time frame on when we are paid for our listings on Creative Fabrica? Are we paid once a week or once a month for our listings and how much are we paid for just listing our products without sales?
Thank you for this straightforward explanation! I better understand the difference now, but still wondered: It's clear that the best option for everyone that uses POD sites- is to modify every design they got from CF- so they won't get a strike, and when cancelling the subscription- they won't need to go back and remove their products. However- if either way, with a Basic or Full license, I would rather edit/change/modify the design - why do I need to have a subscription, to begin with? Can I just download the freebies (that come with Basic POD)- modify them, and use them on the POD platforms? It sounds like- besides the huge selection of designs- the main benefit of the CF subscription is to use them "as-is". Am I missing something?
No you are bang on - the main benefit of the subscription (for me) is that at a certain point, time and convenience become a valuable commodity so having access to anything all the time (for me) has been very valuable. I get a lot of custom requests and one-off weird stuff so I don't want to price out how much a possible design costs - I just grab what I need and go. And if you are selling on your own website, you don't ever need to modify the design (my recommendation to modify the design is mostly because if 30 people all upload the exact same design to Redbubble, then someone is probably going to get a strike because 29 people all uploaded it before the 1st guy). Yes your point is great - if you modify the design, it is basically "yours" forever. You got it!
Hey Zen, I have a question, i purchased a design (commercial usage allowed) this means that i can modify and use this design on amazon kdp (for example) even if i cancel my subscription ? And is it the same with basic pod ?
Thank you for this video. A doubt. often only "commercial license" appears in the article without the Full pod specification. So in that case it's a basic pod?
Yes exactly - unless it says full POD, it would be a license that means the artist needs to change the design, add to it, somehow make it different and unique.
Brilliantly explained, thank you. However, what if I download a commercial use font from CreativeFabrica but it has 'basic POD' attached to it, how could I change that font, please? For example, as I see it, if I just use the font to upload a text graphic to Redbub then technically I haven't altered the font. But, what if I curve text around a circle using that same font and add (say) a public domain graphic in the middle, would that be sufficiently altering the font even though all I've done is curve it?
Vexels has commercial use as well - they are pretty similar to Creative Fabrica (they both don't allow people selling the designs digitally "as is" and they both encourage the monthly subscription for print on demand "as is"). I love both sites!
I would think that one would want to go in and download all they can, the free fonts and designs.. After cancelling my subscription, can I go to create a new piece of work on one of these un-used designs? This is after the cancelation and not posted before. Do I have these downloaded files for my continued use? I am believing I should ALWAYS make some sort of change &/or addition!!! What about all the downloaded and saved fonts??? The font itself doesn't seem like that is as much of a copywrite issue compared to the designs. The font style and it's name is unalterable ( other that the size). I have understood all you taught here and in Avoid Copywrite Pitfalls. I think these questions are nit picky but were not specifically answered or addressed. Thanks! Your the bomb.
Yes it is a great point you make and basically it comes down to how someone would ever police it. I would say that the convenience of having an ongoing subscription is worth it to me, since I don't want to spend countless hours downloading and housing digital assets (and trying to organize them is a nightmare). Legally, once you end your subscription, you aren't supposed to use the designs anymore. I agree - the fonts are virtually impossible to prove use of (and police). I appreciate the feedback!
so basically in cf there is basic and full pod license when i click on any design on cf I see either commercial and full pod or commercial license only. Does this only commercial license comes under basic pod cause I am not seeing license like commercial and basic pod or something. Please explain it.
Some licenses are POD based, but all products are commercial. (Not everyone uses CF for print on demand - many use it for graphics for websites, etc.). You can use commercial licensed products for print on demand - basically anything on CF you can stick on a shirt if you want (although I recommend creating your own art using CF assets).
This video was so helpful. My hang up is the Basic PoD license statement that you cannot "combine multiple products to create a 'new' design and sell that" Does that mean that I cannot take a Basic PoD background image (like the watercolor) and a graphic (like the cat) and sell it like that? Does that also mean that I cannot do that same procedure and add text? I'm having trouble understanding what is prohibited in that arena and it's leading me to believe that I need a Full PoD for anything and everything that I might want to sell. Thanks for any advice you might have!
Hopefully I can help. From a big-picture perspective, all CF designs come with commercial license. So you can sell any of the designs “as is” and CF is cool with it. However, Redbubble/Teepublic might not be ok with it (because they don’t want multiples of the exact same designs and you can get a copyright strike, even if you and the other person both paid for the same design). What you are describing (watercolor plus cat) would generally work. Realistically, what army of CF police are going to scour 44 million designs on Redbubble. So I am generally more worried about a copyright strike (but if you create something relatively unique, you avoid the possibility of a strike).
Thanks for the helpful video. Is it allowed with a Full POD license to show graphics in a tool on my site that customers can use to design and order products themselves? For example a t-shirt-designer-tool?
That's a great question - if you get a POD license, you can use the designs "as is", which is typically the concern. I can't speak on CF's behalf but if you have a POD license, you can sell the design on products (which is what it sounds like you want to do).
thanks for clarifying. So technically you can continue to modify designs after you cancel your subscription and continue selling it afterwards. how will they ever know when you upload a modified design to a website
The Creative Fabrica licenses are for using the digital designs on physical end products (like t-shirts, mugs, prints, etc.). You can’t legally sell the digital designs (on Etsy or anywhere else).
If I was to use a dog design that’s on there with commercial usage allowed what can I do to it so I can use it? I’m not sure how to modify it. I originally just added text to it is that not enough?
Generally speaking no (but I would realistically ask how is anyone going to police that). Artistically speaking, you would want to use CF assets to make a design. I think you have inspired me to create a video showing this!
No - I believe that the CF Fans program allows people to pay a monthly subscription directly to a creator on Creative Fabrica and then you would get access to things like exclusive downloads, articles, etc.
Thanks. That video was well presented and clear. A question has come up for me that I wonder if you can answer. Creative Fabrica just closed my account and now all my history of downloads and licenses have disappeared. I didn't cancel and still have not received clarification from them as to why I no longer have a paid account. Can I keep my books published with modified images and interiors even though I no longer have the license keys? Creative Fabrica isn't even showing that I had a paid account with them. All objects I used from their site were placed in books with other objects and all interiors have been modified to be somewhat unique. I'm a little worried that the only evidence I have of my purchased membership is my visa statement. I hope I hear back from the company soon.
That sounds strange-I have definitely only had good experiences with the customer service team at Creative Fabrica. Hopefully if you explain the mystery, they will get you your account back. They are typically quick to respond!
@@zenwatercooler The mistake was mine. I had accidentally created a brand new account while already logged in. I don't have a clue how I did that, but everything is resolved now. My assets are all intact. Thanks for responding. I really didn't like the idea of going without their service.
Yes you can use any of the designs for stickers (or any product) - I always recommend modifying the design in some way so it becomes a unique piece of art.
Thank you for information!! What if I download from Creative Fabrica pages or fonts and I modifiy and after a I upload and sell on Creative Fabrica. It is okey?
Hey there - I would not recommend that - the general idea with selling on Creative Fabrica is that you are creating unique digital templates and designs (not just modifying existing ones). I would recommend creating original works and selling those!
OK this is a difficult question. Here's my take. You can use any font to create a design. You aren't selling the font. And if you have the font as part of a larger design, then (in my opinion), it stops becoming a font and is a graphic that is part of your design. I'm NOT a lawyer but I have never actually seen anyone get arrested for using a commercial font (on any platform) with any problems.
It's a good question-in my opinion, adding text to a design changes the design. The text gives the image meaning and that makes it significantly different. Of course, adding one word in tiny text probably would not be enough but making the design different with text on the page would.
Could you please do a tutorial on creating thumbnails for Creative Fabrica? I used Canva to create my thumbnails but Creative Fabrica rejected my product because the preview images did not have the right dimensions and the graphic could not be seen clearly.
what about the free designs? If you don't have a subscription, can you use their freebies? Or do you always have to have a subscription, and what about their $1 subscription?
Great question - you can definitely use the freebies (you just need to register to get an account but it is free). There are a ton of great freebies. You can also just buy stuff individually (and you keep the license forever). Something for everyone!
Yes if someone basically steals your exact design and uploads it, Redbubble can tell who uploaded it first. So you can lodge a complaint (a DMCA complaint) and Redbubble will review it and pull the offending listing.
Can Anna the artist just become a seller on cf and sell her altered art there? Sometimes I see two shops selling art that looks eerily the same, but maybe with slight differences.
It's a good question - generally speaking, the designs for sale on Creative Fabrica are not licensed to be used for resale. So Anna can't legally download the cat design, make a small change to it and then re-sell that design on Creative Fabrica. She could however use tiny elements of any design, anywhere, and create a radically new design that no reasonable person would think is even close to being the same as the cat.
I have a slight dilemma. I have been accepted by Creative Fabrica to open a store and I also have a store on eBay. I used a business name generator for the name of my store on Ebay. I have not yet set up my banner, logo or store description on Creative Fabrica. Yesterday, I discovered that someone is using my store name on social media, but it is not my store. What shall I do? Can I still use the store name for Creative Fabrica that I use for Ebay or should I create a brand new store name? Are there any business name generators that you would recommend?
You could still use the same name - it's totally your choice. I have different stores under different names all over the place (Redbubble, Teepublic, Merch by Amazon, Creative Fabrica, etc). I don't think your Etsy store would particularly benefit from your CF store, so this might be a great opportunity to try a new name for the CF shop! I would just recommend picking something fun that means something to you!
I would have to say no. They advise on a “substantial” change (like the design itself would need to be changed). You can always check out the POD license (that allows for “as is”). Look for the POD section at the top of the CF main page.
Disagree. From Redbubble's perspective, Anna is the artist. Redbubble wouldn't know or care that Anna didn't make the design herself. At least that has been my experience (I have been Anna in this situation and seen designs removed). I completely agree with your logic except that Redbubble is mostly run by robots who wouldn't necessarily deep dive on the license.
