STANDARD COMMERCIAL COVER LICENSE
TLDR VERSION
What You Can Do With the Cover
1. Sell a published book with the cover on it
2. Make promo material with the cover on it
3. Publish the image in print or on the Internet with credit
What You Can't Do With the Cover
1. Photoedit the cover, even if you want to change colors or text
2. Sell the cover to anyone else
3. Claim you made the cover
Please Remember to Give Us Credit for the Art
This is really easy to do. Just add "Cover Art © 2022 Avadel Ink" anywhere you would add other copyright statements for the book. Usually that's on the copyright page and the back cover of a printed book, but it might be in the synopsis or somewhere else for a digital book. We enjoy making your books look beautiful and would like to work with other authors to do the same. When you give credit, it gives them a way to find us. Thank you!
LEGAL VERSION
Introduction This contract is between Avadel Ink, which is represented by Laine and Aria Nichols, (“the seller”) and the entity buying the document (“the buyer”). It outlines the terms by which the buyer may use Avadel Ink’s graphic art, from here on out referred to as “the cover”.
Terms of Use After paying Avadel Ink the full amount owed for the cover (as defined in Payment), the buyer has the following usage rights, as long as the buyer upholds all the terms listed in the Responsibilities and Payment sections.
Rights The buyer has the right to use the cover for commercial purposes, including:
• Selling a published book (e-book or print book) with this cover on it
• Creating/distributing promotional material for the book that has this cover (or part of this cover) on it
• Placing this cover onto a “cover jacket” (the file necessary for printing a physical book, usually including a cover to the right side, a blurb on the left side, and a spine in the middle) that someone other than the seller designs.
If the buyer would like to use the cover for something else, the buyer may contact the seller via email, but the seller is not obligated to grant the buyer’s request.
Responsibilities To maintain the buyer’s rights to use the cover commercially, the buyer must abide by the following responsibilities. By signing this contract, the buyer agrees to the following:
• The buyer will give Avadel Ink copyright credit (Cover Art © 2020 Avadel Ink) for the cover art anywhere that other copyright statements for the book are listed. Usually this includes the copyright/information page found at the beginning of a book and, if applicable, on the back (the left side when the file is on a computer) of the cover jacket. However, it may include other places, especially in digital distribution.
• The buyer will not alter the cover in any way other than is reasonable for commercial use. Reasonable alterations include resizing, cropping for promotional materials, and adding to a cover jacket or other promotional material. Unreasonable alterations include (but are not limited to) recoloring the image, attempting to change the text, and adding elements to the cover. If the buyer needs alterations made to the cover, the buyer should contact the seller, but the seller is not obligated to make any changes. The seller may give the buyer further permissions to alter the cover upon the buyer’s request via email.
• The buyer will not sell the cover to anyone. The buyer may use the cover for commercial purposes, but that does not include selling or distributing the cover to a third party.
• The buyer recognizes that Avadel Ink retains all rights to the cover.
• The buyer will not try to claim ownership or creation of the cover.
Retribution for Broken Terms If the buyer fails to maintain any of the Responsibilities listed in the Terms of Use section, the buyer forfeits the Rights listed in the Terms of Use section. Use of the cover for commercial purposes while in breach of the Terms of Use will be considered use of stolen property.
Severance If any provision or part-provision of this agreement is or becomes invalid, illegal or unenforceable, it shall be deemed modified to the minimum extent necessary to make it valid, legal, and enforceable. If such modification is not possible, the relevant provision or part-provision shall be deemed deleted. Any modification to or deletion of a provision or part-provision under this clause shall not affect the validity and enforceability of the rest of this agreement.
If any provision or part-provision of this agreement is invalid, illegal or unenforceable, the parties shall negotiate in good faith to amend such provision so that, as amended, it is legal, valid, and enforceable, and, to the greatest extent possible, achieves the intended commercial result of the original provision.
Payment Payment will be completed through PayPal and will be sent by the buyer to the seller’s account, avadelauthors@gmail.com or avadel.ink@gmail.com. Once payment is complete, the buyer obtains the Rights listed in the Terms of Use section. This payment is non-refundable.
Agreement to terms Using the cover after purchase affirms that the buyer has read, understood, and agreed to the terms of this contract, and that the buyer is old enough to enter into a legally binding contract (at least 18, but older if the age of majority in the buyer’s country is older).