Royalty-free license type question

[Voolf]

I count not find anything related to my problem on the already created threads so i made new one. Please feel free to delete it and redirect me to exesting one (if i missed it).

I get to the point right away. A client needs a royalty free license. I have never use this kind of licensing. After tons of reaserch it seems to me that royalty-free means you are licensing all the rights nonexclusively one time and the client can use it infinite numbers of times in any format they want (basicly a licence of all rights without any restrictions). Is that right ?

[johnvanvliet]

i use the creative commons license - mostly " CC-BY-SA "

[Azélor]

It's a single payment, you're right. No matter how mainly he sells, you get paid only once.

It does not necessarily mean he can do whatever he wants it.
You could agree to only allow him to sell a very specific format, else it is another license and will need your approval.

[Hai-Etlik]

I count not find anything related to my problem on the already created threads so i made new one. Please feel free to delete it and redirect me to exesting one (if i missed it).

I get to the point right away. A client needs a royalty free license. I have never use this kind of licensing. After tons of reaserch it seems to me that royalty-free means you are licensing all the rights nonexclusively one time and the client can use it infinite numbers of times in any format they want (basicly a licence of all rights without any restrictions). Is that right ?

IANAL but my understanding is that all it takes for a license to be royalty free is that there are no royalty payments. The licensor doesn't receive additional payments based on how many copies or how much money is made. It doesn't necessarily mean the licensee has free reign other than in how much they produce. There are licenses that do that of course, but there are also royalty free licenses that are more restrictive. For instance a license for a map for a fantasy novel might only permit it to be distributed as part of a novel without modification. Under such a license the licensee would be unable to sell it as a poster or modify it to reflect changes in a future novel, but they would not owe the copyright holder anything based on the sales of the book.

If a client request is unclear, ask them what they mean as they are the only ones who know for sure. We can't tell you what they mean by "royalty free".

[Voolf]

Thanks for the help. So basicly it seems like a lisence for commercial use. I think it will be wise to ask for details as Hai-Etlik suggested to know what kind of rights the client needs.

[Redrobes]

My understanding is that a royal free license is a one shot payment for the work then they can use it many times - such as a normal commercial license. Whether you allow it to be exclusive or non exclusive or sub-licensable is up to you. Creative commons is a way of licensing permissions so that it can be reused without having to obtain a separate license from the copyright holder. So CC licenses are royalty free, and usually also even less restrictive.

[Jaxilon]

Not sure if you saw this by now or not but: Contracts 101 - Resource Guide for Artists <-- do a search for "royalty"

Aeshnidae had also mentioned being open to Q & A so you might ask in the above thread.

Also, you can download some easy to read cheatsheets that may or may not be helpful from here: http://www.drawnanddrafted.com/education/#/bootcamps/. They allow for pay what you want for those, including nothing if you are a starving artist, but you may want to check the contract one. As I recall it explains the various licenses you can use.