Blender Artistic License

This is the License designed for Tutorials, .blend example files, still images and animations. It is more restrictive than the Blender Documentation License and is thought to protect more the intellectual rights of the artist producing the Tutorial/Blend File/Still/Animation. (Loosely adapted from Perl Artistic License)

Authors can of course choose the less restrictive Blender Documentation License, but no material will be hosted on the Foundation Site unless it abides to one of these two licenses.

It is highly advisable to prepare a zipped package containing, besides the Tutorial etc. files, a file called LICENSE containing this license.

If you are distributing a .blend file alone it is still advisable to add a LICENSE file, otherwise you can add the license in a text buffer of Blender and make sure it shows up when opening the file.

If you are releasing binary files like printable tutorials and you don't want to include the whole license (why wouldn't you?) or are releasing single images or animations, you can also add, in the text, in a corner of the image or in the last frames the wording:

(C) *Year* *your name* - released under Blender Artistic License - www.blender.org

Herebelow, the License Itself:


The "Blender Artistic License"

Preamble:

The intent of this document is to state the conditions under which a
Tutorial guide, a Blender file, a still image or an animation (in the 
following all four will be addressed as 'Item') may be copied, such 
that the Copyright Holder maintains some semblance of artistic control 
over the development of the Item, while giving the users of the package 
the right to use and distribute the Item in a more-or-less customary 
fashion, plus the right to make reasonable modifications.

Definitions:

	"Item" refers to the collection of files distributed by the
	Copyright Holder, and derivatives of that collection of files
	created through textual modification, binary modification,
	image processing, format translation and/or modifications 
	using Blender.

	"Standard Version" refers to such a Item if it has not been
	modified, or has been modified in accordance with the wishes
	of the Copyright Holder as specified below.

	"Copyright Holder" is whoever is named in the copyright or
	copyrights for the Item.

	"You" is you, if you're thinking about copying or distributing
	this Item.

	"Reasonable copying fee" is whatever you can justify on the
	basis of media cost, duplication charges, time of people involved,
	and so on.  (You will not be required to justify it to the
	Copyright Holder, but only to the computing community at large
	as a market that must bear the fee.)

	"Freely Available" means that no fee is charged for the Item
	itself, though there may be fees involved in handling the Item.
	It also means that recipients of the Item may redistribute it
	under the same conditions they received it.

1. You may make and give away verbatim copies of the Standard Version of 
this Item without restriction, provided that you duplicate all of the 
original copyright notices and associated disclaimers.

2. You may apply any modification derived from the Public Domain or from 
the Copyright Holder.  An Item modified in such a way shall still be 
considered the Standard Version.

3. You may otherwise modify your copy of this Item in any way, provided
that you insert a prominent notice in each changed file - except images - 
stating how and when you changed that file, that you keep note in a separate
text file of any change/deletion/addition of images, and provided that 
you do at least ONE of the following:

    a) place your modifications in the Public Domain or otherwise make them
    Freely Available, such as by posting said modifications to Usenet or
    an equivalent medium, or placing the modifications on a major archive
    site such as Blender Foundation www.blender.org, or by allowing the 
    Copyright Holder to include your modifications in the Standard Version 
    of the Package.

    b) use the modified Item only within your corporation or organization.

    c) make other distribution arrangements with the Copyright Holder.

4. You may distribute this Item electronically, provided that you do at 
least ONE of the following:

    a) distribute a Standard Version together with instructions (in a 
    README file, in a text window of Blender) on where to get the 
    Standard Version.

    b) make other distribution arrangements with the Copyright Holder.

5. If this Item is a Tutorial documentation or a still image you can 
redistribute it as hard copy, provided that you do at least ONE of 
the following:

    a) distribute a printout of Standard Version with at most mere
    typesetting changes, stating clearly who is the Copyright
    holder and where to get the Standard Version.

    b) make other distribution arrangements with the Copyright Holder.

6. You may charge a reasonable copying fee for any distribution of this
Item.  You may not charge a fee for this Item itself.  However,
you may distribute this Item in aggregate with other (possibly
commercial) programs as part of a larger (possibly commercial) software
distribution provided that you do not advertise this Item as a
product of your own.

6. If this Item is a Blender File the rendered output from it obtained
via Blender does not automatically fall under the copyright of this Item, 
but belongs to whoever generated them, and may be sold commercially, and 
may be aggregated with this Item. 

7. The name of the Copyright Holder may not be used to endorse or promote
products derived from this Item without specific prior written permission.

8. THIS ITEM IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND WITHOUT ANY EXPRESS OR
IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, THE IMPLIED
WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.