A few weeks ago, a customer sent me a message. She’d bought a set of digital stickers from another shop, opened the files and recognised them. They’d been cut out of one of my instant photo mockups.
When I contacted the seller, she took the stickers down the same day. She’d bought my mockup on a marketplace and believed its commercial licence let her sell what she made with it. She hadn’t set out to copy anyone. The licence simply wasn’t clear to her.
Licences are written for lawyers, so here’s mine in plain English, with real examples.
The short answer
Yes, you can use my mockups and scene creators to sell your products, in your Etsy listings, on your website and anywhere else. Commercial use is included. That’s exactly what they’re for.
What you can’t do is sell my images, on their own or tucked inside something you make.
You already know how this works
Before the rules, a few things you already know from everyday life.
A song isn’t a soundtrack
When you buy a song, you can listen to it as often as you like. You can’t add it to your next Reel or YouTube video. That needs a different licence, which is why Instagram has its own library of licensed music.
A print on your wall isn’t a print run
You can buy an art print and hang it in your café, where every customer sees it and it helps your café look good. You can’t scan it and sell cards or posters of it. You bought one print, not the right to make more.
A font isn’t part of your template pack
If you’re a designer, you know this one already. You can type with a font you bought, but you can’t put the font file in a template pack you sell.
My files work the same way. Buying a mockup lets you show your work in it. It doesn’t make my photos part of what you can sell.
How do I check my own product?
Ask yourself one question: is my image presenting your product, or is it part of the product? If it presents your product, like a listing photo of your planner in one of my scenes, you’re fine. If it’s part of what your customer gets, it isn’t allowed.
If you’re still not sure, imagine taking every Custom Scene file out of your product and ask:
- Does your product still stand on its own?
- Were my images its main value?
- Were my images the reason someone would buy it?
If the first answer is no, or either of the others is yes, it’s my work being sold, not yours.
The short version I use is show it, don’t ship it. If a file reaches your customer, none of my photos or objects should be in it.
Can I use your mockups in my Etsy listings?
Yes, and I love seeing them there. Spotting one of my scenes holding someone else’s work is one of the best parts of this job. You can:
- Put your planner pages, cards, prints or book covers into my mockups for your listing photos, website and social posts (if you’re new to planners, here are four ways to make your own)
- Use the same scene with as many of your designs as you like, across your whole shop
- Style a listing photo with props from my scenes, even if those props aren’t part of what you sell
- Make mockups for a client and send them the finished images
- Use those images in adverts, print and video
You don’t need to credit me, although it’s always appreciated.
What isn’t allowed?
Every example below comes from a real case. In nearly all of them, the person thought it was fine. You can’t:
- Cut my instant photo frames out and sell them as digital stickers
- Sell my wax seals, washi tape or stationery as sticker sheets or clip art
- Build a digital journal or planner on top of my notebook photo, even if you recolour it
- Use my backgrounds or paper textures as pages or covers in something your customer downloads
- Edit one of my mockups and sell it as your own mockup or template
- Make editable templates for other people, whether for a shop, a course or a membership
- Use my images in a print-on-demand or “personalise it yourself” shop
- Print my images on mugs, posters or other merchandise
- Share or repost my files, including the free ones
Why I’m strict about this
I’m one person. Every scene starts with me in the studio: sourcing the objects, styling, shooting and editing, then preparing and listing the files. A single copied file undoes weeks of that.
It hurts in other ways too. When my photos turn up inside someone else’s product, buyers assume I made it. If that download is broken or missing files, it lands on my name, even though I never made those files.
And when it’s sold at a third of my price, I can’t blame anyone for picking the cheaper one. That’s the part that makes it hard to keep doing this.
Does it matter where I bought the file?
Yes. Which licence applies depends on where you got it.
| Where you got it | Licence that applies |
|---|---|
| customscene.co (cash, credits or a free file) | Custom Scene licence |
| My Etsy shop | Custom Scene licence |
| Creative Market | Creative Market licence |
| Envato Elements | Envato Elements licence |
| Adobe Stock | Adobe Stock licence |
| Shutterstock | Shutterstock licence |
Marketplace licences are written by the marketplace, not by me, so check theirs. The questions above are still a good test either way.
How many projects can I use a file for?
Each licence covers one project. A project is your own brand or shop, or one job for one client. Working for a new client means a new licence.
Files you get with Custom Scene+ credits have exactly the same licence as files bought with cash, and you can keep using them if you cancel. A licence is for one person, so please don’t share files with colleagues.
Can I get permission to put your images inside my product?
Sometimes, yes, through a custom licence. Think of a McFlurry. The Oreo or Maltesers in it are there because McDonald’s has an agreement with the brand. It can’t tip in chocolate bars from the supermarket and print the name on the cup.
Email [email protected] and tell me which files you’d like, what you’re making, how many copies and where it’ll be sold. An app recently licensed a set of my PNG images this way, to use inside the app.
The one thing I won’t license is a product sold to the same people I make for. That means digital planners, journals, stickers, mockups, scene creators, templates and asset packs.
I think I’ve already got this wrong. What now?
If you’re reading this because I’ve sent you a message, thank you for clicking through. It happens, and it’s easy to fix.
Take my images out of the product, or take the listing down, then let me know at [email protected]. If you bought the file on a marketplace, send me your order details and I’ll check them against that licence. I’d much rather sort it out with you than report it.
Still not sure?
Send a link or a screenshot to [email protected] and I’ll tell you. The full terms are in the Custom Scene licence.
Roman