Copyright

As an author you have the responsibility to only sell things that belong to you. By selling an item, you are making an agreement not only with the Luvly but with the buyers that you own full copyright to that item, and have appropriately licensed any auxiliary content that it makes use of.

Luvly takes copyright violation very seriously. If we discover that a work has violated copyright we will ban the author from Luvly and freeze any funds made from the sale of that work.


What is Copyright?

You can find a full definition of copyright on the U.S. Copyright office website. The following is a very short description.


Copyright is a legal concept that gives the creator of an original work exclusive rights to it. The copyright holder has the right to choose if anyone else can use, adapt or resell their work and have the right to be credited for that work.


Only the copyright holder of a work may do the following:

·       Make copies of the work and distribute them.

·       Create derivative works or alter the work in any way.

·       Sell the work in either it’s original version or in an altered form.

·       Grant or sell licenses to use the work.


Remember the creator of a work retains copyright to it even if they don’t expressly tell you so.

Licenses and using other people's work

The author is responsible for all copyright use or potential copyright violations in his or her files. For you to make use of another person’s work you need an express license to do so. So for example if you purchase a stock photo you are not buying the photo, you are actually purchasing the license to use that stock photo in a certain way.


Different licenses allow you to do different things. You need to look carefully at licenses to see what they permit and what they do not. You need a license that allows the asset’s use in items for resale and redistribution.

What happens if there doesn't appear to be a license?

Please contact the original copyright holder and get written permission.
The penalties for breaching copyright can be severe. Luvly takes copyright violations very seriously and will not tolerate copyright violations.

What is copyright infringement?

A copyright infringement or violation is the unauthorized use of work that is covered by copyright. If you use, alter or sell another person or company’s work without a license or their written permission then you are violating their copyright and are breaking the law.
If you suspect another file has infringed on the copyright of your work or others, you should us to report it.


Here are some requirements to comply with copyright violations

  1. The item must NOT include any brand names, logos or trademarks. – For example you cannot use an Apple or McDonalds logo, even if you have recreated it, photographed it, or altered it. You cannot use a photo of a watch if the brand name of the watch is legible.
  2. The item must NOT be based on any other item. – For example you cannot submit a website template that is based on an established website. Similarly you cannot submit an item which is too similar to another item for sale on the Marketplace or another website.
  3. The item must NOT be based on a tutorial. – For example you cannot submit an item that you created by following a tutorial, in whole or in part. Even if the tutorial writer has granted a license for use you should keep in mind that on principle the Marketplace do not allow tutorial recreations. You cannot reproduce any elements of another tutorial or another person’s work, unless you have the license to do so.
  4. You must NOT upload items that have been decompiled or otherwise reconstructed from another item (even if that item is your own). – For example you cannot decompile a Flash file and resell it, even if you alter it significantly.
  5. You must NOT upload an item that uses free or purchased components from any other source UNLESS you have an express license to do so. – For example you cannot download a file then use part or all of it in a file for sale unless it specifically states that it is usable in items for resale.
  6. You must NOT upload an item that uses government or military property – For example you cannot submit an item that contains a presidential seal or military insignia.
  7. You must NOT purchase or download any item then resell it – You cannot submit an item that you have purchased or downloaded from another site.
  8. You must NOT purchase or download any item, alter it, then resell it – You cannot submit an item that you have purchased or downloaded from another site and then altered.
  9. You must NOT use photos, videos or sounds in your files UNLESS you have a license to resell them. – The only photographs/videos/sounds allowed in files are those that are:           a. Created by the author; b. Purchased or acquired under an appropriate license that       allows use in an item for sale
  10. You must NOT upload an item that includes a recognizable human feature UNLESS you have a signed model release. A model release is a legal document that must be signed by the model granting permission to use their face or recognizable feature.
  11. You must NOT upload an item that includes a recognizable private location UNLESS you have a signed location release. A location release is a legal document that must be signed by an authorized person granting permission to use an image of the location.


When you sell an item on Luvly you are granting purchasers a license to use the item. There is a regular license that ALL items must be sold with. This regular license allows the use of your item in a purchasers projects for either personal or commercial use without the payment of any further fees or charges after the initial download cost. If you do not want to or cannot grant these rights, they cannot be sold on Luvly. Please do not upload them.


From time to time Luvly adds other license types which you as an author can opt-in to sell. These extended licenses are more expensive than the regular license but grant extra rights. For example they may allow the purchaser to incorporate the item into something which they then sell. So they might buy an illustration and then make a T-shirt design out of it which they then sell.