Before I get started, I am NOT leaving DA nor removing my deviations. Because this whole policy change is bullshit. Not the policy's change. The huge fucking deal everyone's making out of it.

FAQ #226: Does deviantART own my art? <-- Read this. Instead of deleting your art because of a policy you probably didn't read carefully, read this first.

Now then.

Anyone here actually read the Terms of Service policy? Section 4 is quoted below:

4. Copyright

deviantART is, unless otherwise stated, the owner of all copyright and data rights in the Service and its contents. You may not reproduce, distribute, publicly display or perform, or prepare derivative works based on any of the Content without the express, written consent of deviantART. However, deviantART does not claim ownership rights in your works or other materials posted by you to deviantART (Your Content).

This means that DA copyrights its service (deviantART itself and the site), but it says in plain English that it does NOT claim ownership rights in your works.

Section 16 is also below:

16. Copyright in Your Content

deviantART does not claim ownership rights in Your Content. For the sole purpose of enabling us to make your Content available through the Service, you grant to deviantART a non-exclusive, royalty-free license to reproduce, distribute, re-format, store, prepare derivative works based on, and publicly display and perform Your Content. Please note that when you upload Content, you allow third parties to copy, distribute and display your Content.

Meaning that DA can publicly display, re-format (go from SWF image to JPG for example), and store your images, SOLELY to display them to others. They do NOT say you are allowing them to modify them in any other way.





Okay, ToS aside, here's from the Submission Agreement:

Section 2 is quoted here:

2. Ownership. Artist at all times retains all right, title and interest in and to the Artist Materials provided by Artist hereunder (including, without limitation, the copyrights in and to the Artist Materials), subject to the non-exclusive rights in the licenses granted to deviantART under this Agreement. Artist is free to grant similar rights to others during and after the Term of this Agreement.

Right off the bat, at only number 2, they say explicitly that "ARTIST AT ALL TIMES RETAINS ALL RIGHT ... IN AND TO THE ARTIST MATERIAL". I continue reading...

People seem to be making a huge fuss over #3, so let's break it down:

3. License To Use Artist Materials. As and when Artist Materials are uploaded to the deviantART Site(s), Artist grants to deviantART a worldwide, royalty-free, non-exclusive license to do the following things during the Term:

1. to prepare and encode Artist Materials or any part of them for digital or analog transmission, manipulation and exhibition in any format and by any means now known or not yet known or invented;

Pretty self-explanatory, nothing controversial here.

2. to display, copy, reproduce, exhibit, publicly perform, broadcast, rebroadcast, transmit, retransmit, distribute through any electronic means (including analog and digital) or other means, and electronically or otherwise publish any or all of the Artist Materials, including any part of them, and to include them in compilations for publication, by any and all means and media now known or not yet known or invented ;

This basically gives DA the ability to display and transmit/broadcast your artwork. No biggie.

3. to modify, adapt, change or otherwise alter the Artist Materials (e.g., change the size) and use the Artist Materials as described in Section 3(b);

"Otherwise alter" pretty much is just there for "wiggle room". They don't mean they're gonna photomanip your art, they just mean they might crop or resize your images.

and
4. the right to sublicense to any other person or company any of the licensed rights in the Artist Materials, or any part of them, subject to the terms and conditions of this Agreement.

If DA needs another company to do something for them, let's say print an ad or make a commerical, some images done by you might appear there (lets say your image was on DA's front page at the time they made the ad), so this prevents the company from being liable. That may be a shitty explanation on my part, but I got other things to do than rant about this, so I'm just gonna move along.

5. Artist acknowledges that Artist will not have any right, title, or interest in any materials with which Artist Materials may be combined or into which all or any portion of Artist Materials may be incorporated..

Note: MAY BE COMBINED. If DA makes a collage of some featured pictures, this sentence here will say you don't have rights to the entire collage just because your pic was in it. It does NOT mean that individual picture doesn't belong to you. It is NOT taking away your rights to your work. See what I said earlier how they stated TWICE they don't claim rights to your work.

6. During the Term, deviantART's licenses under this Agreement include the right to use any part of the Artist Materials in the promotion,advertising or marketing of the DeviantART Sites.

Again, if they make an ad of some sort, this is giving them the right to use some of the pics on DA in that ad. And again, this could even be as harmless as a pic of yours being on the front page when they screenshot it.

7. As used in this Agreement, the term "Artist Materials" means any content uploaded to the deviantART Site(s) which may include without limitation Artist's name(s) (including professional names), trademarks, trade names, likenesses, photographs, biographical materials, artwork, liner notes, and other graphical or textual materials and any and all "skins," computer-generated images or other artwork or images that Artist submits to deviantART.

This isn't anything, it's just making sure you know what the "Artist Materials" are that they were referring to.


So remember... DA IS NOT CLAIMING RIGHTS TO YOUR WORK. SO STOP DELETING IT ALL!!!