Commercial Rights issue

[lexisdesigns]

Hi, I am a graphic designer who is working as a seller in fiverr. Recently I did some (20) designs to a buyer. Due to many revisions and increasing designs (to 24), my delivery was late. Then he cancelled the order by contacting cs and got a refund, after completing the order.

Then he told me that he will use those (24) designs, even he did not paid for them. I want to know, who got the commercial rights for this designs? Is it with him legally? or with me?

Please Help!!
Thank you

[imagination7413]

Welcome to the Fiverr forums.

He didn’t pay, he doesn’t get.
Per the Terms of Service. (See bolded line below.)

Ownership

Ownership and limitations: When purchasing a Gig on Fiverr, unless clearly stated otherwise on the Seller’s Gig page/description, when the work is delivered, and subject to payment, the Buyer is granted all intellectual property rights, including but not limited to, copyrights for the work delivered from the Seller, and the Seller waives any and all moral rights therein. The delivered work shall be considered work-for-hire under the U.S. Copyright Act. In the event the delivered work does not meet the requirements of work-for-hire or when US Copyright Act does not apply, the Seller expressly agrees to assign to Buyer the copyright in the delivered work. All transfer and assignment of intellectual property to Buyer shall be subject to full payment for the Gig and the delivery may not be used if payment is cancelled for any reason. For removal of doubt, in custom created work (such as art work, design work, report generation etc.), the delivered work shall be the exclusive property of Buyer, and Seller assigns all rights, title and interest in the delivered work. Some Gigs (including for custom created work) charge additional payments (through Gig Extras) for a Commercial Use License. This means that if you purchase the Gig for personal use, you will own all rights you require for such use, and will not need the Commercial Use License. If you intend to use it for any charge or other consideration, or for any purpose that is directly or indirectly in connection with any business, or other undertaking intended for profit, you will need to buy the Commercial Use License through a Gig Extra and will have broader rights that cover your business use.

[tiakovolana]

yeah in this case, you own those designs 100%, he has no rights whatsoever to use them

first port of call, my advice would be to contact CS with proof, you may get your money back eventually that way. then, if he uses your work, he is stealing your intellectual property, P&S

[lexisdesigns]

yeah in this case, you own those designs 100%, he has no rights whatsoever to use them

first port of call, my advice would be to contact CS with proof, you may get your money back eventually that way. then, if he uses your work, he is stealing your intellectual property, P&S

@tiakovolana

Thank you for your advice. I already contacted the CS yesterday. Because he threatens me that he could banish me from fiverr forever.

[lexisdesigns]

Welcome to the Fiverr forums.

He didn’t pay, he doesn’t get.

Per the Terms of Service. (See bolded line below.)

Ownership

Ownership and limitations: When purchasing a Gig on Fiverr, unless clearly stated otherwise on the Seller’s Gig page/description, when the work is delivered, and subject to payment, the Buyer is granted all intellectual property rights, including but not limited to, copyrights for the work delivered from the Seller, and the Seller waives any and all moral rights therein. The delivered work shall be considered work-for-hire under the U.S. Copyright Act. In the event the delivered work does not meet the requirements of work-for-hire or when US Copyright Act does not apply, the Seller expressly agrees to assign to Buyer the copyright in the delivered work. All transfer and assignment of intellectual property to Buyer shall be subject to full payment for the Gig and the delivery may not be used if payment is cancelled for any reason. For removal of doubt, in custom created work (such as art work, design work, report generation etc.), the delivered work shall be the exclusive property of Buyer, and Seller assigns all rights, title and interest in the delivered work. Some Gigs (including for custom created work) charge additional payments (through Gig Extras) for a Commercial Use License. This means that if you purchase the Gig for personal use, you will own all rights you require for such use, and will not need the Commercial Use License. If you intend to use it for any charge or other consideration, or for any purpose that is directly or indirectly in connection with any business, or other undertaking intended for profit, you will need to buy the Commercial Use License through a Gig Extra and will have broader rights that cover your business use.

@imagination7413

First of all, thank you for your kind welcome for me.

and thank you so much for the answer too.

At last I need to something else too,

When I did tell him that he cannot use any contents for commercial use, he has threatened me that he will take actions to banish me from fiverr by contacting fiverr cs.

I mean how can he even do that? He even got his $$$ back. I am the one who lost my money and time (a month).

Can you give me an advice for this matter? I already contacted fiverr cs yesterday. Anything more that I can I do?

Thanks again!!!

[imagination7413]

You can delete those extra two posts above.
. Community Standards & Forum Rules - 2020

As for the buyer threatening you, I’m glad you’ve already contacted CS. That’s the first step, stating your side of the story. If you’ve done nothing against anything in the ToS yourself, then you’re fine. If you have broken the ToS, then yes, sadly, you are at risk of being flagged, even if the infraction is unrelated to the order.