Signing over Commercial Use License, same as Ghost Writing?

[thechosenwriter]

Hello, I hope everyone is having a nice day.
I was writing a story for my buyer when a question came in mind.
If my buyer purchases a Commercial Use license, does that give them the right to exclude my name from the piece entirely?
I know that they can use the story to make money off of it and that it’ll be perpetual, exclusive and non-transferable, but does that mean they no longer have to give me credit for the work?
I am sorry if the question seems silly, I appreciate you taking the time to read my query.
😁

[gwyneth_galvin]

Hello, I hope everyone is having a nice day.

I was writing a story for my buyer when a question came in mind.

If my buyer purchases a Commercial Use license, does that give them the right to exclude my name from the piece entirely?

I know that they can use the story to make money off of it and that it’ll be perpetual, exclusive and non-transferable, but does that mean they no longer have to give me credit for the work?

I am sorry if the question seems silly, I appreciate you taking the time to read my query.

😁

but does that mean they no longer have to give me credit for the work?

Yes.

It’s not a silly question! You won’t receive royalties or, if the buyer chooses, credit once you sign over the commercial rights. In fact, I don’t think the buyer even has to credit you if they DON’T purchase commercial rights. (Them needing to buy commercial rights in order to use the work being a different topic altogether!)

Someone might be able to give a more detailed explanation than me, but based on the ToS, that is my interpretation of the rule!

[audioboon]

Credit or “Attribution” as it is called in Creative Commons is something different from Commercial Use license.

With Commercial Use buyer is getting the right to use your work for commercial use, and make money out of it, without having to pay you royalties. Legally, you still “own the work” as written in the ToS under commercial use license, but according to ToS the buyer is not obliged to mention your name inside the “product” he is is selling.

Credit is something that you need to specifically ask for when someone is buying your gig. Some artists have it included in their gig description “You’ll need to give me a credit for the work” or something like that.

In my case, I don’t care about credit that much allthough many of the people I worked with were asking whether they can credit me inside their work.

But if you want to be credited, you need to ask for it. And try to work that out in the beginning, the best before the purchase.

[thechosenwriter]

but does that mean they no longer have to give me credit for the work?

Yes.

It’s not a silly question! You won’t receive royalties or, if the buyer chooses, credit once you sign over the commercial rights. In fact, I don’t think the buyer even has to credit you if they DON’T purchase commercial rights. (Them needing to buy commercial rights in order to use the work being a different topic altogether!)

Someone might be able to give a more detailed explanation than me, but based on the ToS, that is my interpretation of the rule!

That actually helps out a lot. I suppose I should have discussed this matter with my buyer before they placed the order. Regardless, thank you for taking the time to reply 😊

[thechosenwriter]

Credit or “Attribution” as it is called in Creative Commons is something different from Commercial Use license.

With Commercial Use buyer is getting the right to use your work for commercial use, and make money out of it, without having to pay you royalties. Legally, you still “own the work” as written in the ToS under commercial use license, but according to ToS the buyer is not obliged to mention your name inside the “product” he is is selling.

Credit is something that you need to specifically ask for when someone is buying your gig. Some artists have it included in their gig description “You’ll need to give me a credit for the work” or something like that.

In my case, I don’t care about credit that much allthough many of the people I worked with were asking whether they can credit me inside their work.

But if you want to be credited, you need to ask for it. And try to work that out in the beginning, the best before the purchase.

When you say ‘make money out of it’, does that include reselling my work at a higher rate?

From what you said, I best discuss the matter of attribution with my buyer. Or perhaps, I should just leave this one since I didn’t discuss it with them beforehand. It might seem unprofessional.

Either way, thank you a lot for your help.

[gwyneth_galvin]

When you say ‘make money out of it’, does that include reselling my work at a higher rate?

From what you said, I best discuss the matter of attribution with my buyer. Or perhaps, I should just leave this one since I didn’t discuss it with them beforehand. It might seem unprofessional.

Either way, thank you a lot for your help.

does that include reselling my work at a higher rate?

I can only speak from the experience of a voice-over artist, but 99% of my work is repackaged by the buyer and sold to their client at a mark-up. It’s all allowed.

I’ll let @audioboon share their thoughts since you asked them and not me 😛 but I do think it’s important to discuss these things with the buyer beforehand instead of in the middle of.

[thechosenwriter]

does that include reselling my work at a higher rate?

I can only speak from the experience of a voice-over artist, but 99% of my work is repackaged by the buyer and sold to their client at a mark-up. It’s all allowed.

I’ll let @audioboon share their thoughts since you asked them and not me 😛 but I do think it’s important to discuss these things with the buyer beforehand instead of in the middle of.

Oh dang, I should have done my research before-hand. But anyway, better late than never, right? 😄

[gwyneth_galvin]

Oh dang, I should have done my research before-hand. But anyway, better late than never, right? 😄

I should have done my research before-hand.

Don’t be silly - you learn as you go. I’ve been on Fiverr 3+ years and I learn something new about the platform all the time. There are a lot of weird clauses in the ToS that are open to interpretation and sometimes the website contradicts itself and can be confusing. Never be afraid to ask if something isn’t clear, we’re all in it together! :smiling_face_with_three_hearts:

[thechosenwriter]

I should have done my research before-hand.

Don’t be silly - you learn as you go. I’ve been on Fiverr 3+ years and I learn something new about the platform all the time. There are a lot of weird clauses in the ToS that are open to interpretation and sometimes the website contradicts itself and can be confusing. Never be afraid to ask if something isn’t clear, we’re all in it together! :smiling_face_with_three_hearts:

Never be afraid to ask if something isn’t clear, we’re all in it together! :smiling_face_with_three_hearts:

You really are too kind. Going forth, I’ll make sure to keep this in mind.

I hope you have a wonderful day 😊

[audioboon]

When you say ‘make money out of it’, does that include reselling my work at a higher rate?

From what you said, I best discuss the matter of attribution with my buyer. Or perhaps, I should just leave this one since I didn’t discuss it with them beforehand. It might seem unprofessional.

Either way, thank you a lot for your help.

When you say ‘make money out of it’, does that include reselling my work at a higher rate?

I am speaking from a point of view of my market: The music I sell is usually included in other products, like videos. The buyer can sell the video at higher prices, but the buyer cannot resell my music on its own, as a separate product since I am legally the owner, as stated in the ToS.

Now, if you are selling stories, it should be the same: is your story included in a book or a website or something else as a separate product? If yes, your story is only a part of something else the buyer is selling, so he can charge whatever he/she wants for that product.

I believe the buyer cannot resell your story as it is at higher prices, unless you specifically agreed to or selling ghost writing. Commercial USe license covers you for this. But I don’t know much about your market, and how publishing stories works, the best will be to consult other people that sell stories here on fiverr.

Your question is valid and copyright and royalties are a difficult things to define, especially in a marketplace as fiverr.

In my opinion, if you are aiming for royalties, fiverr is not the place to sell your stories. You need to contact some publishing companies.

[thechosenwriter]

When you say ‘make money out of it’, does that include reselling my work at a higher rate?

I am speaking from a point of view of my market: The music I sell is usually included in other products, like videos. The buyer can sell the video at higher prices, but the buyer cannot resell my music on its own, as a separate product since I am legally the owner, as stated in the ToS.

Now, if you are selling stories, it should be the same: is your story included in a book or a website or something else as a separate product? If yes, your story is only a part of something else the buyer is selling, so he can charge whatever he/she wants for that product.

I believe the buyer cannot resell your story as it is at higher prices, unless you specifically agreed to or selling ghost writing. Commercial USe license covers you for this. But I don’t know much about your market, and how publishing stories works, the best will be to consult other people that sell stories here on fiverr.

Your question is valid and copyright and royalties are a difficult things to define, especially in a marketplace as fiverr.

In my opinion, if you are aiming for royalties, fiverr is not the place to sell your stories. You need to contact some publishing companies.

You are completely right, seeling stories here for royalty is not the best idea.

I suppose I don’t care much for attribution; at least not with the stories that I am writing for others and selling on here. However, it is good to know what they can and cannot do with the work.

This was extremely informative. I appreciate you taking the time to explain it to me.