Question:Commercial use of Sketchup free in a competition
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Are there restrictions in using the free version for commercial work?
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Hi Cotty,
according to the terms of use, SketchUp Free can be used only in non-commercial areas.
Charly
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Charly, I still cannot see where this is written.
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Anyway: Is it commercial to win a prize? Does it matter if the design is judged on marketability?
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This has been debated endlessly...
As far as I know the current Free version can be used for most things, provided that they are not damaging to Trimble, and they are are legal, decent etc.
It's long been "recommended" that Pro is best suited for commercial use; but it doesn't specifically preclude Free for commercial use either.
A competition is hardly 'commercial' anyway...
Read this for comfort...
http://www.sketchup.com/intl/en/download/license.html -
Oh, if it is not in the competition terms, as for SketchUp license; yes, you can use the Free version for any commercial work.
A bit of history:
- When the first free version (Google SkertchUp 5 Free "Beta") came out,in the EULA they explicitly forbid commercial use.
- When version 6 came out (the first version that was actually the "same" but the Pro with additional features), they explicitly allowed commercial use of the Free version.
- Since version 7 (and the move of the whole support documentation to Google and such), this explicit permission has been dropped but no explicit ban has been (re-)introduced either.
So they try to make free users "hang" now in uncertainty - but if you consider the principle that "what is not forbidden, is allowed", you can still use SU Free for commercial purposes.
Now Google (and any Google employees) have never gone so far to actually "interpret" these two sections. Probably (no, 'certainly') employees were forbidden to say anything. They have always said "if you have doubts, ask a lawyer".
But this is clear IMO (at least as much as mud). I am a lawyer, after all.
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Hi TIG, Gaieus,
Gaieus, the first thing I must say you look good on the new avatar.
thanks for your answers. A friend of mine asked me that question. I also read the previous thread on this subject and I have read the license conditions four times but I wanted to be sure.
Charly
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So, save your model in V6 and everything is OK.
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If you were to use v8 Free and of course you then win the competition... do you really expect Trimble to get legalistic about a questionable interpretation of a 'terms of use'? They would have to have a need and a benefit...
Trimble would all but certainly embrace this 'free publicity' from your win... AND you'd probably be given a Pro license and other accolades too !
If [by some miscarriage of natural justice!] you didn't win... then as long as you don't bad-mouth SketchUp and blame it for your own dismal failure... then Trimble will almost certainly just ignore you...
What's the benefit to them, if they even noticed, of doing anything else ?There is such a thing as 'vexatious litigation' after all...
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@charly2008 said:
Gaieus, the first thing I must say you look good on the new avatar.
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Thanks again for your answers.
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@cotty said:
@charly2008 said:
Gaieus, the first thing I must say you look good on the new avatar.
Looks a little like Frankenstein's monster...just sayin. (just add bolts)
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Use the free for the competition
If you win, you will need the Pro for make the real project!
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@solo said:
@cotty said:
@charly2008 said:
Gaieus, the first thing I must say you look good on the new avatar.
Looks a little like Frankenstein's monster...just sayin. (just add bolts)
I've searched similar pictures with google, no Frankenstein there, but other well known people...
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Come on guys, stay on-topic!
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clears throat
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