Finally! Somewhere I can post! hehe

[bygodsdesign]

I have been advised by several to come to digishoptalk to post the info on this and everywhere it looks like this might go - is restricted to whatever DCR is - and I don't own my own shop yet - I design for free right now so I can't apply. But it does apply to Scrap 4 Hire as much as anyone else so I'll post here.

Anyway, ever write an email that was intended one way and totally received in a different way? Well, I'm finding in our digiscrap world, TOU's and terminology like "Commercial use" for example tend to be the same way - there are a lot of hurt and upset designers out there just over misunderstandings because various people define terms in different ways.

Most industries have associations and industry standards that help stop this sort of thing before it starts but our community does not have such a thing yet. (In our world) Meaning, if you are a member of this particular association, then when you say "commercial use ok" you mean the same thing as any other designer who says the same thing who is a member of the association.

So, I am setting out on a journey to help organize an association that will help standardize terminology in TOU's and so forth. But I need lots and lots of help, feedback, suggestions, input, an advisory panel, and so forth!

So, I've set up the "baby" - come check it out! Here's (http://dc4cs.myfastforum.org/)the link!

My blog will also carry updates including an introductory announcement I'll post later this evening... http://blog.bygodsdesign.biz

[Just Plain Kristi]

Preachin' to the choir here, my friend! Actually, we have a start on the effort already at Digi Scrap Designers (http://dsd-professionals.com/stoui/).

But in our effort I say the more the merrier! We really do need standardized definitions and terminology...especially with the international nature of this industry. Looking forward to checking out your site. Oh and you might enjoy an older blog post of mine (http://kaylaugh.wordpress.com/2007/10/18/an-open-letter-to-digital-scrapbooking-kit-designers/).

[Barb Speck]

I've been designing now for over 4 years. Back when I started designing Commercial Use was allowing someone to use your designs in their work that would be resold. It is usually expected that the Commercial Use products would be made into something or become a part of something and not just put in a kit as received. A couple years ago someone decided that for Digital Scrapbook Designers Professional Use was a better term but I totally disagree because in other digital business you won't see Professional Use used. Other digital designers outside the digital scrapbook field use the word Commercial Use. When I go looking for products that I might use with my designs I'm always reading TOUs and Commercial Use is the standard. If you had designers who weren't in the scrapbooking business but wanted to use designs say for advertisments and other graphics use they would be looking for Commercial Use product.

I agree that it would be much easier to have a standard TOU for Personal, Commercial and Scrap4Hire/Scrap4Others or even crafters but I think the reality of that happening is that it won't and that's because in my Commercial Use TOU I am very specific about what others can use my designs for and how they can use them and most who have Commercial TOUs with their product do the same. Someone else might just say as you pointed out Commercial Use ok. I think that it is those designers who might be upset when they see their designs used in a way that they didn't specify but if you don't have a specific Commercial Use TOU and just say Commercial Use ok then I personally think you've opened yourself up to the interpretation of the person who bought the product.

Of course now Scrap4Hire and Scrap4Others has come about and so now many of us have had to make up a special TOU just to cover that kind of use. I actually have a Scrap4Hire/Crafter's TOU that I use. As far as Scrap4Others goes I don't see the need for separate TOU. If you are scrapping for others and not making money on it then you fall under my Personal Use TOU. In my Scrap4Hire/Crafter's TOU I have specifically stated that the items can not be plopper pages, that crafters can't mass produce cards or stationary, that you have to make each item and not just scan something and that you can't use the item any more then 100 times in any given design.

I know that it is a pain to read TOUs but before I buy something that is exactly what I do. If others want to make money on their designs then I don't see that standard TOUs are going work but again that is just my personal opinion. I wish you luck.