Hi, as a freelancer I have made 30+ custom panels and scripts to do my own work.
It has evolved into a complete solution as a front end to another industry software.
What I understand from a brief look into it, is that you could compile Blender with all your custom addons and sell it, two points apply…
You are only selling the download service and ongoing development and customer service, as you don’t own your own code written for Blender.
You have to provide the code if/when asked. (Not sure to whom or what that means exactly)
As a freelancer, if I put my custom Blender version out into the world, I feel as if I would just get eaten up, someone with more resources and experience can just take it and sell it.
Also what I think I am most concerned about is, as an active freelancer I would be giving my competition my tools in a niche market.
What I do is very niche, it has a relatively very small group of freelancers doing it, but that’s still a lot of potential customers of course.
I love how Blender is open source, it has after all enabled me to do this in the first place, I hope you can see what I am getting at, the dilemma and the potential and I am asking for your thoughts and advice.
It’s a little more complex than you’ve realized- you can’t use “Blender” in the name, as that’s a trademark of the Blender Foundation and commercial use of a trademark is very illegal.
Not quite- you have to provide the code to the public before being asked. It must be publicly accessible at all times to be GPL compliant. This would be uploading the code for all your custom addons (and the Blender source code) to some sort of public repository.
It seems generally not worth it, to me, your public code will immediately be downloaded, and anyone else can redistribute it for less than you or even free. Your odds of making a profit are maybe, for the first couple days, slightly above zero.
Ultimately, you need to talk to a lawyer. This is a complex issue far above the pay grade of this forum
Thanks, I thought of compiling all the addons and scripts as there are so many. Would the same things apply to an addon shop and also not be worth the effort ?
Yes I have only just started to look into it. What I have made is fantastic and unique as far as I can see, seems a shame not to get it out there somehow.
You may want to read up on the GPL here, as you’re more than a bit off base there. (relevant section GPL V3 section 6 ). What you are suggesting is by far the most convenient way for everyone involved, but it’s by no means a requirement nor the only option.
One of the options is to have a written offer, send people the source on a physical medium (CD/DVD/Usb Driver/Tape) and charge (reasonably) for the shipping and duplication costs. (6b)
From my observations of community and other developers have general rather have fair approach to paid addons.
“Stealing” someones code is very negatively perceived, and only acceptable if original developer no longer work for that addon for longer time (like year<) or there is no way of legitimately acquire that addon.
Checkout Blendermarket and Gumroad: And how much there is sales of some of addons (eg. Meshmachine, Hard Ops) or Blender forks (eg. K-Cycles).
You can even try to search non legitimate version of popular addons and only end up on pirate sites, where there are also pirated commercial plugins to other software.
If You are really concerned about your super secret algorithms You can go route of UVPackmaster or QuadRemesh. Where Blender addon just transfer data to closed rourced engine that is non-GPL and does actual stuff.
And If You are just worried that someone sees Your idea, and make its own version from scrach maybe even without loking at code. The, well thats no different of closed sourced software.
Yea, there are similar products to aforementioned HardOps or K-Cycles, but it seems that its just trying of solving same problem rather than stealing someones work.
Yea, there are some outlayers, (Eg. As i recall there was some drama around similar version to K-Cycles, and as You can see there is no that other version no more on BlenderMarket).
I you didn’t modify blender , since from what I understand it’s all about addons/python script, you might just sell your products on blendermarket / gumroad, as many people do…
If we talk about 30 separate addons it might be better to regroup them under only a few…
From there you are not selling blender, and therefore avoid many further issues.
Keep in mind that every python code using blender’s API falls into the GPL, just like with many addons out there nothing prevent users from redistributing or modifying the code. But in practice people in the blender community tend to play fair from what I see.
that’s your issue, that’s against the license you’re compiling other people’s code into you’re new commercial Software. and people who come up with that, did some R&D to come up with, invested money and time into making cleary that said: you can’t use my investment unless you make it free, and you make other people able to see what you did and how you did it, like we did with the original pieces which helped you to be able u make you did now. (goofy way tried to explain to license hope you get it)
technically anybody, if Derp from the north pole email you and said hey i can’t find your code of the modified blender version you made, you have to comply and send it to him (better directly publish it under the GPL license that’s what people do to avoid headaches), if you don’t comply it gives that person the right to sue you, or let the blender foundation know and they will.
if you do that you’re taking people work and selling it without their permission look what you said:
you’re trying to do the same thing to blender. it may sound ok when you use the word "small freelancer but you maybe a bigger freelancers than a lot of freelances who committed in blender code and added to it.
that’s why the solution is to sell Addons (separate from blender, no blender source is compiled into them) and sell those. if you are worried about the Phyton and people can see what you did. make a binary (closed source with no GPL license source in it) that will be yours and you will have that right. and add phyton interface for blender (it will sound hard and unpractical) and that’s why Blender took the wise decision of forcing the addons to be that way or people could have already eaten it in someway (even by making it’s development slow cause people will see they can fork from there toward a personal gain solution).
for the first part there is a lot of GPL’s but i don’t think you can do what ever, if whatever is possible why bother having a license.
im not saying you can’t modify or compile. but doing so toward a closed source version is all what those licenses are about,
that’s the interface i was talking about “the addon” the real blender plugin will be that way (GPL python…). but it will be communicate with a binary, are you telling Ocatne render for example is open-source?
@joseph
sorry for my poor English choice of words, i meant that’s no my understanding. just discussing (i know i not a decision maker ) it’s the license
it’s my understanding, and i’m not a lawyer, that you’d have to have a GPL’d script between Blender and the commercial software (Octane, for instance). the python code that talks with Blender has to be GPL, due to linking with the Blender API which is GPL. but if that then communicates “at arms length” (via sockets, REST, or whathaveyou) to the commercial softare, that keeps the commercial part from being linked (statically?) with the GPL in-between code and thus not have to be GPL itself. this may change of AGPL is used, but i’m still really fuzzy on the AGPL license.
@KDLynch that’s exca
that’s exactly what i was saying guys: im quoting it again :
was just lazy calling a python interface!! your work is a closed source and a pyhton interface (the blender addon as it should be of course ) in between
end i had in mnind render engines simulation engine as exmaples
I think most developers have this worry before they start, but in my experience it’s unwarranted.
There is much more that goes into software than the source code. Especially for niche areas. The code is maybe 5% of the actual work involved. What you are really selling is your knowledge and experience.
Maybe really think this through. I have no experience in selling code. But when I read your post I instantly remembered the e-Cycles vs. K-Cycles drama.
I can’t speak for this guy but:
Developer of e-Cycles is not selling his modified Blender version anymore. I think he took it very personally when someone else took his ideas and spread them under different brand. From my understanding he invested quite a lot of time developing something as a personal tool, decided to sell it. It became quite popular and as he grew bigger also the drama grew bigger.
I think you have to make peace with yourself before you start putting out what you value so much.
Despite of any GPL related stuff:
If those “custom blender” doesnt mean a vanilla blender itself was rewrited to fix those tons of underdone things in blender + just some extra panels - i guess almost no one would be interested in buy such thing.
People who just having fun with blender - doesnt need any “solutions” and tool and they heavily stick to vanilla because 99% of youtube tuturials will use vanilla blender, vanilla hotkeys and mostly just free addons most of which would be preinstalled already.
Professionals who make money with blender already stuffed it with almost all necessary addons, scripts and tools for speed up workflow and make more money/hour. If tool doesnt exist at all, that would most likely means what implementing such tool would require to rewrite blender source code, so we again goto if your “custom blender” are not heavily rewrited vanilla - it doesnt worth buing at all.
Thanks, i will look into the e-Cycles drama! I think i am at peace though, I expect it to be taken if I put it out there, the issue is can I make some ongoing profit from it as well, being a nobody in software sales. I wonder what the e-Cycles drama was about, can’t wait to find out! But it seems from what you are saying, that he was selling it and stopped because someone took it, rather than legal issues, anyway thanks for the lead.
Luckily, the GPL license isn’t determined by democratic majority
) it’s the license
