Symptoms:
- I am a freelancer/ contractor
- I would like to use Assets purchased during one contract for work in a different contract
Cause:
Anyone who hires you to do work must also own a license to any Asset which is used in the Project.
Resolution:
Yes, you are allowed to use your Assets, but your client must also have a license (copy) for each Asset used in a Project.
A contractor is a third party and as such, a separate license would be required, except where the 'multi entity' license option is chosen.
In that case, the contractor working for a company with a 'Multi Entity' license for an Asset, does not need a separate license as long as work is limited to the Project for which the contractor was hired.
Multi-entity licenses cannot be shared between companies or Organizations. This means that if you are a freelancer who uses an Asset in one of your Projects, your customer will need to buy their own license to the Asset in order to use or distribute your Project.
More information:
What does 'Extension Asset: One License Required For Each Individual User' mean?
Comments
11 comments
The eula makes it sound like a freelancer and company both need the asset license, and that the company alone having one is not enough. Is this true?
Hi Nathan,
Thanks for the comment,
Whomever the entity is that is releasing the product which includes assets, they need a license. Here is an example. If company 'A' hires contractor 'B' to make a game, any assets used by contractor 'B' to make the game will need to be purchased by company 'A'
if they want to release the game.I hope it helps.
So if the company A hires contractor B, and company A has a license, then contractor B does not need a separate license?
Hello Nathan.
Thanks for getting back to us.
In this instance, company A would be the license holder for the asset and the contractor can use this license provided it's shared to them by the Company.
If you have any follow up questions, do not hesitate to contact us at support@unity3d.com
"In this instance, company A would be the license holder for the asset and the contractor can use this license provided it's shared to them by the Company. "
I am confused. The license terms were updated in February shortly after our exchange, but after I bought most of my 3D assets.
The text shown now is "License applies to a single entity. Contractors are required to have their own, separate license."
Does that mean that I have lost the right to hire a contractor to work on my project unless they have their own copies of my assets?
I would not have purchased them had I known this would be the case. Is it possible to get an exception for previously purchased assets?
edit: The new policy explicitly states:
Multi Entity
Hello Nathan.
Thanks for reaching out to us.
I'm sorry to hear there's some confusion around this.
If they are regular Assets then you can share these amongst your team. If they are Extension Assets then you can chose a multi entity license in which your colleagues are permitted to use.
I hope this information helps. All the best.
Thanks for clarifying Derek.
>If they are regular Assets then you can share these amongst your team. If they are Extension Assets then you can chose a multi entity license in which your colleagues are permitted to use.
The FAQ and popup within the store are very clear that sharing assets with contractors is no longer allowed, so is this a UI bug?
Eg, the single/multi entity choice is only available for regular (non-extension) assets. For extension assets there is only an add to cart option.The FAQ also repeats that sharing with contractors is not allowed [1, 2].
I think this is a new policy and I am confused because I purchased most of my 3D assets before it came into effect.
[1] Non per seat - All assets that are not categorized as “Editor Extension”, “Scripting”, or “Services”. Within this license type, you can purchase for:
[2] A contractor is a third party and as such a separate license would be required,
Hello Michael.
Thanks for getting back to me. I'm sorry for any confusion cause.
I understand your point of view. The information regarding sharing the Assets in my last message is regards to sharing amongst your team mates. Not to an independent contractor. I'm sorry about that.
You are right, the terms have changed recently. Independent contractors are required to have their own license for assets. Unfortunately, current projects will need to abide by these terms.
However, that being said it's not entirely your responsibility to provide the developer with an Assets license. This would be something you'd discuss with them.
If you have any queries or concerns, I recommend chatting with us directly through support@unity3d.com
I am going to be honest: you have to feel safe trusting the companies you depend on. Revoking previous license rights on previously purchased assets, in surprising and financially substantial ways, has made me lose most of my trust in Unity. Especially considering the messages from support explicitly telling me I had those rights 4 days before the change.
I will email support if I have further questions. Thanks Derek for your time, I know that none of this was your doing and you were very helpful.
Hypothetically, a company has two contractors and one employee working on a game. Each contractor has a seat for a per-user asset. How many seats does the company need for that asset? One, two, or three?
Hello Paul,
Thanks for your comment, I would be happy to help you with this.
In the case of your hypothetical example, if a Multi-Entity license was purchased for an Asset not categorised as an ‘Extension Asset’ or 'Seat' you would only need 1 copy of the Asset.
However, if the Asset in question is an ‘Extension Asset’ or 'Seat' based license, then each employee, including contractors, would need to own a Seat to use it.
I hope this helps! If you have any other questions, please feel free to contact us via email at support@unity3d.com. Have a nice day!
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