Copyright Information

[simplepc]

So I wanted to inform my fellow buyers but if you reside in the US and are worried about copyright look no further because under work for hire you own the content that you bought. BUT if the work is already in the sellers portfolio and they say I already have something that fits your needs… you do not own the right because they are licensing their work to provide you content. Regardless of fiverr’s terms which are only designed to protect them. you can view copyright ownership here please read 201 (b)

https://www.copyright.gov/title17/92chap2.html

dont want to click on the link heres a snap shot for you

[fonthaunt]

Fiverr requires you to agree (electronically sign) the Terms of Service when you sign up as a seller or buyer. Therefore, the ToS would stand as a written instrument and the copyright is transferred to the buyer unless there is another explicit statement or agreement that says otherwise in the gig description or communications.

However, when it comes to U.S. copyright law, there are only two ways you could enforce it when you are a freelancer or a buyer of freelance work. One is to sue the other party and use a document like the one you attached to attempt to claim copyright. Since Fiverr is anonymous, that one isn’t very plausible.

The other is to file a DMCA takedown order if someone publishes content that you believe to be your own. A seller CAN do that in the case of a cancellation and a non-seller CAN file one if they find work on Fiverr that belongs to them. Your document has validity in the U.S. but it isn’t applicable for most situations.

[zeus777]

Fiverr requires you to agree (electronically sign) the Terms of Service when you sign up as a seller or buyer. Therefore, the ToS would stand as a written instrument and the copyright is transferred to the buyer unless there is another explicit statement or agreement that says otherwise in the gig description or communications.

However, when it comes to U.S. copyright law, there are only two ways you could enforce it when you are a freelancer or a buyer of freelance work. One is to sue the other party and use a document like the one you attached to attempt to claim copyright. Since Fiverr is anonymous, that one isn’t very plausible.

The other is to file a DMCA takedown order if someone publishes content that you believe to be your own. A seller CAN do that in the case of a cancellation and a non-seller CAN file one if they find work on Fiverr that belongs to them. Your document has validity in the U.S. but it isn’t applicable for most situations.

Allow me to jump in just for a second ( and sorry, this has NOTHING to do with this post…) but I saw your new profile photo and it’s sweeeeeeeeeeeet. What’s the name of that furry little cutie??? 😍 Loooove your expression too, that’s pure love and trust I see 😇

[fonthaunt]

Allow me to jump in just for a second ( and sorry, this has NOTHING to do with this post…) but I saw your new profile photo and it’s sweeeeeeeeeeeet. What’s the name of that furry little cutie??? 😍 Loooove your expression too, that’s pure love and trust I see 😇

To @zeus777 and also to @woofy31 who commented on my new profile photo in other thread - OT:

Thank you guys! I’ve gotten so much response on this photo, I’m thrilled. The fur baby in this one is my darling Jade. She’s a shelter rescue and we’re madly in love. She is a domestic shorthair with beautiful jade green eyes and a kink tail the is adorable. I am a domestic shorthair with ordinary green eyes and a ❤️ and other critters!

Back to our regularly scheduled topic! 😉

[simplepc]

Fiverr requires you to agree (electronically sign) the Terms of Service when you sign up as a seller or buyer. Therefore, the ToS would stand as a written instrument and the copyright is transferred to the buyer unless there is another explicit statement or agreement that says otherwise in the gig description or communications.

However, when it comes to U.S. copyright law, there are only two ways you could enforce it when you are a freelancer or a buyer of freelance work. One is to sue the other party and use a document like the one you attached to attempt to claim copyright. Since Fiverr is anonymous, that one isn’t very plausible.

The other is to file a DMCA takedown order if someone publishes content that you believe to be your own. A seller CAN do that in the case of a cancellation and a non-seller CAN file one if they find work on Fiverr that belongs to them. Your document has validity in the U.S. but it isn’t applicable for most situations.

Here’s a scenario if i were to buy a gig from a seller description states nothing about copyright later down the road there’s an issue of either other people using the logo I bought or after purchase buyer says I need to purchase an extra gig to legally own the logo. Now within this time frame the seller changes up his description to suite them. Now because of fiverr TOS wouldn’t it fall in favor of the seller? And I doubt fiverr keeps backups of such changes since they would like to decrease the amount of data they have to store so they can save money.

[simplepc]

Fiverr requires you to agree (electronically sign) the Terms of Service when you sign up as a seller or buyer. Therefore, the ToS would stand as a written instrument and the copyright is transferred to the buyer unless there is another explicit statement or agreement that says otherwise in the gig description or communications.

However, when it comes to U.S. copyright law, there are only two ways you could enforce it when you are a freelancer or a buyer of freelance work. One is to sue the other party and use a document like the one you attached to attempt to claim copyright. Since Fiverr is anonymous, that one isn’t very plausible.

The other is to file a DMCA takedown order if someone publishes content that you believe to be your own. A seller CAN do that in the case of a cancellation and a non-seller CAN file one if they find work on Fiverr that belongs to them. Your document has validity in the U.S. but it isn’t applicable for most situations.

And also fiverr just repeats what is in section 201 of the copyright law both buyer and seller have to agree on copyright.

and to back up my facts this is directly from fiverr

For removal of doubt, in custom created work (such as art work, design work, report generation etc.), the delivered work shall be the exclusive property of buyer, and seller assigns all rights, title and interest in the delivered work.

[fonthaunt]

Here’s a scenario if i were to buy a gig from a seller description states nothing about copyright later down the road there’s an issue of either other people using the logo I bought or after purchase buyer says I need to purchase an extra gig to legally own the logo. Now within this time frame the seller changes up his description to suite them. Now because of fiverr TOS wouldn’t it fall in favor of the seller? And I doubt fiverr keeps backups of such changes since they would like to decrease the amount of data they have to store so they can save money.

if i were to buy a gig from a seller description states nothing about copyright later down the road there’s an issue of either other people using the logo I bought or after purchase buyer says I need to purchase an extra gig to legally own the logo. Now within this time frame the seller changes up his description to suite them. Now because of fiverr TOS wouldn’t it fall in favor of the seller? And I doubt fiverr keeps backups of such changes since they would like to decrease the amount of data they have to store so they can save money.

No, in the scenario you described the rights would remain with the buyer if the order was marked complete. Fiverr does keep track of changes and it only takes 3 days for an order to auto-complete, even if the buyer didn’t manually mark the order complete, Fiverr would be able to tell if a seller tried to change the gig description or add extras after completion and they would leave the rights with the person would bought them - the buyer. The seller cannot try to claim those rights back after gig completion, they can only do that if the gig was cancelled and the buyer refunded.

the delivered work shall be the exclusive property of buyer,

This proves it further. Once a gig is complete, the work belongs to the buyer, not the seller.

seller assigns all rights, title and interest in the delivered work.

This continues to prove it by stating that if there is no other provision made, the seller automatically assigns (sells) all rights to the buyer.

[mariokluser]

Especially on Fiverr you should be careful due to the tons of copyright violations here. A seller who sells something that isn’t his in the first place can never grant you any rights. Therefore it is for buyers in the graphic design sector important to make sure that the design is actually created by the seller and doesn’t consist materials where the seller does not own any rights for reselling, reuse etc. for. (It doesn’t matter in this case what the TOS of Fiverr say in this case. If someone sells a stolen car it is still a stolen car. Same with IP).
Detailed information on copyrights can be found on copyright.gov

[fonthaunt]

Especially on Fiverr you should be careful due to the tons of copyright violations here. A seller who sells something that isn’t his in the first place can never grant you any rights. Therefore it is for buyers in the graphic design sector important to make sure that the design is actually created by the seller and doesn’t consist materials where the seller does not own any rights for reselling, reuse etc. for. (It doesn’t matter in this case what the TOS of Fiverr say in this case. If someone sells a stolen car it is still a stolen car. Same with IP).

Detailed information on copyrights can be found on copyright.gov

@simplepc :

it is for buyers in the graphic design sector important to make sure that the design is actually created by the seller and doesn’t consist materials where the seller does not own any rights for reselling, reuse etc. for.

Mario is right here, this is a different matter. If a seller attempts to sell something they don’t have rights to, the real owner could lay claim to the material. However, the seller still wouldn’t be the one to retain rights. In the case of a legitimate sale, the buyer gets the rights.

[simplepc]

if i were to buy a gig from a seller description states nothing about copyright later down the road there’s an issue of either other people using the logo I bought or after purchase buyer says I need to purchase an extra gig to legally own the logo. Now within this time frame the seller changes up his description to suite them. Now because of fiverr TOS wouldn’t it fall in favor of the seller? And I doubt fiverr keeps backups of such changes since they would like to decrease the amount of data they have to store so they can save money.

No, in the scenario you described the rights would remain with the buyer if the order was marked complete. Fiverr does keep track of changes and it only takes 3 days for an order to auto-complete, even if the buyer didn’t manually mark the order complete, Fiverr would be able to tell if a seller tried to change the gig description or add extras after completion and they would leave the rights with the person would bought them - the buyer. The seller cannot try to claim those rights back after gig completion, they can only do that if the gig was cancelled and the buyer refunded.

the delivered work shall be the exclusive property of buyer,

This proves it further. Once a gig is complete, the work belongs to the buyer, not the seller.

seller assigns all rights, title and interest in the delivered work.

This continues to prove it by stating that if there is no other provision made, the seller automatically assigns (sells) all rights to the buyer.

I never said the order had to be completed it could be a order that takes 12 days to complete and the seller switches up on day 2.

so To make things simpler I will go back to my original statement since buyers would never agree to pay extra to own content they are hiring someone to create for them. Regardless of fiverr’s TOS which is only designed to protect them in the long run buyers own the content that they hire sellers for unless seller already owns the content and agrees to license to buyer.

and going from what @mariokluser said the only way you will find out if a seller sells you something they have no rights to will be from a lawsuit or dmca take down which depending on how popular your brand is may take a month or years. if anything fiverr needs to add a metadata database or something so that they can scan the files when orders are delivered.

[fonthaunt]

I never said the order had to be completed it could be a order that takes 12 days to complete and the seller switches up on day 2.

so To make things simpler I will go back to my original statement since buyers would never agree to pay extra to own content they are hiring someone to create for them. Regardless of fiverr’s TOS which is only designed to protect them in the long run buyers own the content that they hire sellers for unless seller already owns the content and agrees to license to buyer.

and going from what @mariokluser said the only way you will find out if a seller sells you something they have no rights to will be from a lawsuit or dmca take down which depending on how popular your brand is may take a month or years. if anything fiverr needs to add a metadata database or something so that they can scan the files when orders are delivered.

I never said the order had to be completed it could be a order that takes 12 days to complete and the seller switches up on day 2.

If the order isn’t complete and the seller tried to change their gig, they would have to notify you in writing that you owe extra for the rights. Why would you accept and complete a gig based on that? That doesn’t make sense. You just tell the seller that the original terms need to stand and that the ToS says that the rights will be long to you as the buyer upon completion. If the seller tries to argue, you can ask for a cancellation and walk away. If the seller refuses the cancellation, you can make a Customer Support ticket. Support will be able to see the chronology and they will cancel the order for you if necessary. You are never under an obligation to accept delivery when the seller changes the terms after the order is placed. The buyer has the control. I’m really not sure what is complex here:

A. If the order isn’t complete and the seller tries to change the terms, then you don’t accept delivery. If the seller tried to changed the terms, Support will not allow it

B. If the order is complete and the terms said you didn’t have to pay extra for rights, you already own them.

Under either circumstance, you own the rights on a completed order if the work is original, and if the order isn’t complete, the power lies in your hands as a buyer.

Mario’s comment is about a different issue, which is about using a seller who tries to sell you something that never belonged to them. You can generally check work out in a reverse image search (or Copyscape for writing) If it’s not original work, don’t accept it. If it is, the rights are still yours. Fiverr doesn’t take responsibility beyond that for what independent contractors (sellers) do.

I think this has been twisted many times and my answers are still the same. Good luck!

[simplepc]

I never said the order had to be completed it could be a order that takes 12 days to complete and the seller switches up on day 2.

If the order isn’t complete and the seller tried to change their gig, they would have to notify you in writing that you owe extra for the rights. Why would you accept and complete a gig based on that? That doesn’t make sense. You just tell the seller that the original terms need to stand and that the ToS says that the rights will be long to you as the buyer upon completion. If the seller tries to argue, you can ask for a cancellation and walk away. If the seller refuses the cancellation, you can make a Customer Support ticket. Support will be able to see the chronology and they will cancel the order for you if necessary. You are never under an obligation to accept delivery when the seller changes the terms after the order is placed. The buyer has the control. I’m really not sure what is complex here:

A. If the order isn’t complete and the seller tries to change the terms, then you don’t accept delivery. If the seller tried to changed the terms, Support will not allow it

B. If the order is complete and the terms said you didn’t have to pay extra for rights, you already own them.

Under either circumstance, you own the rights on a completed order if the work is original, and if the order isn’t complete, the power lies in your hands as a buyer.

Mario’s comment is about a different issue, which is about using a seller who tries to sell you something that never belonged to them. You can generally check work out in a reverse image search (or Copyscape for writing) If it’s not original work, don’t accept it. If it is, the rights are still yours. Fiverr doesn’t take responsibility beyond that for what independent contractors (sellers) do.

I think this has been twisted many times and my answers are still the same. Good luck!

Well it was out of portion due to you. my main post was to inform buyer about the copyright law and that they do not need to pay extra to own the license to the content created for them and the difference for if the seller actually owns the content before you buy. Wasn’t talking about any contract nor dmca etc. but I guess all this extra stuff can be valuable information for them

[fonthaunt]

Well it was out of portion due to you. my main post was to inform buyer about the copyright law and that they do not need to pay extra to own the license to the content created for them and the difference for if the seller actually owns the content before you buy. Wasn’t talking about any contract nor dmca etc. but I guess all this extra stuff can be valuable information for them

Yes, it might. However, buyers do have to pay extra to own licenses if the seller had a commercial license extra or other provisions at the time of order. Copyright rules are fairly simple here. Enforcement of the rules isn’t. 🙂

[wburtle]

I see this thread is a few months old, but I have a question in a similar vein.

I’ve read the Fiverr ToS and am clear about the work for hire and the Commercial Use License extras that might be included. I’m working with a seller to design a logo for my business. The Gig is presented as new work and not licensing existing work. The Gig doesn’t make any statements about commercial use or owning the copyright or anything. However, listed as an Extra is, “I will provide you copyrights of your logo.”

Does this really mean anything if Fiverr’s ToS says the buyer becomes the owner of the commissioned work anyway? There’s no statement anywhere else in the Gig about this, and no description to go along with the extra.

[matureactress]

I see this thread is a few months old, but I have a question in a similar vein.

I’ve read the Fiverr ToS and am clear about the work for hire and the Commercial Use License extras that might be included. I’m working with a seller to design a logo for my business. The Gig is presented as new work and not licensing existing work. The Gig doesn’t make any statements about commercial use or owning the copyright or anything. However, listed as an Extra is, “I will provide you copyrights of your logo.”

Does this really mean anything if Fiverr’s ToS says the buyer becomes the owner of the commissioned work anyway? There’s no statement anywhere else in the Gig about this, and no description to go along with the extra.

As per the US Copyright Act… anytime the rights are offered to you, the implication is that the Seller wishes to retain ownership and you need a written document, signed by him and granting your company rights.

[roymatthewman]

Hello. I live in Australia. I posted a request for a logo and received over 60 quotes. Some of them state they will provide “Source file” and “give your new logo full ownership with full copyrights”. Does “Source file” automatically mean I own the file? If this isn’t stated in the Sellers Summary, does that mean I will not have full copyright or ownership to the logo?

[jonbaas]

Hello. I live in Australia. I posted a request for a logo and received over 60 quotes. Some of them state they will provide “Source file” and “give your new logo full ownership with full copyrights”. Does “Source file” automatically mean I own the file? If this isn’t stated in the Sellers Summary, does that mean I will not have full copyright or ownership to the logo?

I posted a request for a logo and received over 60 quotes. Some of them state they will provide “Source file” and “give your new logo full ownership with full copyrights”. Does “Source file” automatically mean I own the file? If this isn’t stated in the Sellers Summary, does that mean I will not have full copyright or ownership to the logo?

According to Fiverr’s legal Terms of Service, unless the seller lists their own special terms in their gig description, you own everything that he/she delivers. You don’t need the source file to own anything, but it is helpful if you plan to make changes to your logo down the road.

[insomnizak]

So here’s my scenario… what if the design is something I made, via sketch which was then sent to the artist to render digitally for me. Would copyright be mine from the start? Do I need to purchase the copyright add on once he is done?

[uk1000]

So here’s my scenario… what if the design is something I made, via sketch which was then sent to the artist to render digitally for me. Would copyright be mine from the start? Do I need to purchase the copyright add on once he is done?

what if the design is something I made, via sketch which was then sent to the artist to render digitally for me. Would copyright be mine from the start? Do I need to purchase the copyright add on once he is done?

See the full section on ownership/copyright in the terms of service. Quoted partially below:

https://www.fiverr.com/terms_of_service

Ownership and limitations: Unless clearly stated otherwise on the Seller’s Gig page/description, when the work is delivered, and subject to payment, the Buyer is granted all intellectual property rights, including but not limited to, copyrights for the work delivered from the Seller, and the Seller waives any and all moral rights therein…

If commercial use is shown in the gig as an extra then you’d need to purchase that to use it commercially. Otherwise, unless stated otherwise in the gig description you’d own all rights once the order is set to “complete” (once you’ve accepted the order or it auto completes after 3 days). But if you cancel the order you can’t use it (you won’t have the rights to use what the seller delivered if the order is cancelled). I’m not sure what rights the seller would have if you cancelled (if it was totally created by the seller rather than from your sketch they’d own the copyright to it if you cancelled I think).

Also, you’d own the rights to what you created in the sketch throughout the process.