blog 4.0 ownership of materials

Licensing, the idea of you owning something, and me paying for using it for an extended period of time, or a small amount of time, or even just once. The idea of you having certain rules and regulations for your owned material, and me wanting to do whatever I want given I payed for it. Truth is, I didn't pay for it so much as I paid to have it in what I'm making, it is your work, so you should be able to set the rules. However this could lead to a creative problem. I want this image to use in my design that implies something you don't want your product implying. Creative licensing is something all designers have to get used to unless you're one of those who literally does everything themselves. If you are this designer, I tip my hat to you sir or madam, I personally am not. I will need some stock photos every now and then, or that font from that free website but comes complete with a "read me" file containing the license agreement. What I want to do with your product, and what you want to allow your product  to be used for may very well conflict. As designers we have to always be wary of licensing agreements and licensed products due to the nature of our work. If a client walks up to you and hands you a photo and says I want this on a t-shirt saying "blah blah blah", make sure you explain to them that if this photo was from the internet, that they have the permission to use it, that they know where it came from, and that they understand that this photo could very well have a license that needs to be purchased in order to be placed on this t-shirt. Also we should all be aware that there could be legal repercussions for just throwing that photo into a design for a client and having them sell it. Creative licensing is very much a part of our would and it would benefit all designers greatly to expand their knowledge on the subject and always be mindful of them.