"Non-Commercial?"

#1

Ok, so I’m really not clued up on the law… At all.

If something is FREE for NON-COMMERCIAL use - Does commercial mean just “money making” use or does it cover widespread/public use?

For e.g. if I use free for non-commercial music in Terminal (my cs game) and never sell it - is that within the bounds of the license?

Or is it considered to be ‘commercial’ if I’m freely distributing it on a large scale?

And the ‘non-commercial’ means strictly personal only?

EDIT: Affairs of the court is the default section? Ugh, apologies…

#2

I’ve just been looking into this myself and while I’m not certain, it seems it depends on the original owners of the music and the agreements vary. I found some music for my game through searching google for royalty free music. The piece I found allows me to use the music for any use (commercial or non-commercial) as long as I give credit to the original owner. Alternatively, I can buy the rights to the music for around $15 a track (this will vary, of course).

In your case, commercial definitely refers to ‘making money’ so non-commercial would allow it to be used for free for public use, as long as you aren’t gaining financially from the music.

If you never sell Terminal, but release it for free, you have nothing to worry about. If you put a price on it, it will depend on the agreement the owner of the music has decided upon.

As I said at the start though, I’m not certain about this - the best thing to do would be contact the owner of that piece of music directly.

#3

I am a new lawyer there are some distintions about no comercial.
Some considers free apps or page with publicity others dont let you share it with aproval or direct credit the autor others contracts dont allow make any mod in the file other no comercial artistic licenses allow moding. I help if you send the page licence when you download the music

#4

Creative Commons - I can’t find a specific detailed page.
Though to quote

“If you are looking for royalty free music for commercial projects, such as films, background music for office/café or whatever your heart desires, feel free to check out the wonderful licencing options offered by Jamendo.com”

But alas, I can’t really afford $200 a track so…

#5

Okay, non-commercial means that you cannot make any money from it in any way shape or form, even to offset the costs of distribution. That means everything from no selling it/no adds (obvious) to no asking for donations (as that would be classed as income from the product).

The short of it is, if any money at all changes hands at all because of the product (even if you never see the money) then it’s commercial. Then, only if it does not fall under the category of commercial, is it non-commercial.

#6

@Reaperoa - Thanks, that’s a pretty clear explanation.

So as long as I don’t charge for it, don’t ask for donations, advertise or do anything that could produce any kind of financial benefit for myself or others - I should be ok?
I’ll still try and contact the artist but “in general” I would assume it’s ok to start using his stuff (with proper credits and attributions of course!)?

#7

Yes correct there are others to admit donations but has to be write in the licence i found a page with sounds and music free to use allow in all conditions even paying products so look well an observe the licence clearly

#8

@CJW Yea, the short is, so long as no one gets money from it, it’s non-commercial.

As for the specific circumstances, it sounds like you’re talking about someone in particular. I’d have to see their page to give specific advice.

#9

He said that’s fine (part of his intention for making them generally CC) so all is awesome. Thanks for everyone’s help :slight_smile:

#10

What Reaperoa says, though really it’s useful to indicate a country for law purposes next time you ask even if it’s a general international commercial law question. - I haven’t elected to studying commercial law, though a friend of mine has, it’s quite a boring subject - seeing how the law varies on that basis. :slight_smile:

-excuse the lack of coherency, no sleep ;_;