Answered Question about licenses and Patreon.

[vamurai]

So... I've been kicking around the idea of having a Patreon. My intention is not to have a paywall, I intend to keep all of my scenes free because I personally believe they should be. I've just had enough suggestions and questions over the past few months to feel like it might be worth making one. I'm still sorting that part out, what it would look like, what I'd actually be offering, etc.

Anyway, my question is around the "NC" licenses. "Can distribute, remix, etc but non-commercially." This seems pretty obvious to me in some respects. If I made a scene, plopped it on my Patreon, and charged money for people to have it, and that scene contained assets with an NC license, I'd be in violation. Very cut-and-dry. What would that mean if I continued to use NC-licensed content in my scenes that were entirely free and hub-hosted, but I had a Patreon on the side for those that wanted to "donate to the cause," as it were.

Example: My last scene (heck, a few of them now!) featured a Look from Damarmau. If I had created that scene just as I did, uploading it here for free, but had a link to my patreon saying "If you like my stuff, support me!" or whatever, is that in violation of the NC licensing?

I'm not dead-set on a Patreon here, I'm just exploring options and really want to make sure I do right by all of the fantastic content creators out there and the licenses they've chosen for their work.

Thanks in advance!

Oh, and I promise I've been doing my homework! This handy chart answered most of my questions, I just a couple of lingering ones that weren't directly addressed by that chart or the other entries related to it.

 

[RandomVAMUser]

If you are uploading to hub (credit everyone and whatnot...) it's still free/public/non-commercial use.
I don't see the issue(violation) there...
You can add support link that points to your patreon (on resource page or promo-link inside var package).
...everything else is business as usual.

it mostly depends where package is hosted, under what license and did you follow all reference requirements: leaving attribution, ND, etc...
Having a support link that supports you is fine...and it's not paywalled link to buy XYZ package.

If you post on patreon behind paywalled post (also on hub as hub-hosted),
this could be violation of NC (on patreon side).

But if you post on patreon as public post (also on hub as hub-hosted),
this is bit gray area (on patreon side... it's public post... so idk?).
...i would assume it's still fine? since it's public post (doesn't require patreon to download, basically externally hosted)...maybe someone can clarify this example.

 

[vamurai]

You can add support link that points to your patreon (on resource page or promo-link inside var package).
...everything else is business as usual.

That's what I'm thinking. My intention is to always have my stuff free and hosted on the Hub. The Patreon would just be "extra." Maybe Patrons can make requests for updates to a scene or special requests for whole scenes or something. *shrug* I don't know, i haven't really gotten that far. I'm mainly just wanting to wrap my head around the license issues before I even start down that path.

Thank you for your input!

 

[Acid Bubbles]

Strictly speaking, using someone's work to make money is considered commercial, but it's really not as clear cut as I make it sound. For example, if you took a picture and Nike used it in an ad, you'd consider that they made money out of your work. Now you can stretch that down to "I use your asset, you can see it partially in a screenshot, and somewhere else on the page I have a link for donations" as "commercial" but really I'd be surprised if someone went that far. Especially if you read the actual NC text: "in any manner that is not primarily intended for or directed towards commercial advantage or private monetary compensation". Clearly it's not primarily intended for a commercial advantage if you release your stuff for free (in my humble opinion) and I'd consider it fine. Heck that's exactly what I do... but in the end, in doubt ask the authors, worst case you'll make friends in the process

Oh and on a side note, keep in mind that having a Patreon will put pressure on you, even if everyone's nice and nobody's asking anything, receiving money will probably make you feel like you owe people something and put you in a tough position down the line. I think this bit quite a few people, just something to keep in mind.

 

[vamurai]

Oh and on a side note, keep in mind that having a Patreon will put pressure on you, even if everyone's nice and nobody's asking anything, receiving money will probably make you feel like you owe people something and put you in a tough position down the line. I think this bit quite a few people, just something to keep in mind.

Yeah, that's the main reason I haven't done it up until now: no pressure to release on a schedule.

I appreciate the thought exercise here though. It's certainly a lot to consider.

 

[DJ]

Moderator here. As long as the scene you are offering is 100% free, it can reference NC packages. Adding "If you like my stuff, support me!" to your post wouldn't invalidate that.

 

[vamurai]

Moderator here. As long as the scene you are offering is 100% free, it can reference NC packages. Adding "If you like my stuff, support me!" to your post wouldn't invalidate that.

Thanks for that, DJ!