Using scratch commercially....

'Is it legal', 'can I do this' type questions and discussions.
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s19320
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Using scratch commercially....

Post by s19320 »

Hi!

I’m looking into the idea of creating online workbooks for young people to help them learn code (through scratch). What are the restrictions (if any) for me screenshotting the scratch.mit.edu create page to create step by step instructions?

E.g. is it for non-commercial use only etc.

Does anyone know if scratch prevent you from profiting from it - e.g. could I sell the online workbooks?

This is a link to the “terms of use” - https://scratch.mit.edu/terms_of_use (noticeably sections 5.2, 5.4 and 5.5)

Thank you :)
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AndyJ
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Re: Using scratch commercially....

Post by AndyJ »

Hi s19320,

All the Scratch materials including the step-by-step instructions would appear to be covered by the Creative Commons ShareAlike 2.0 license, which I assume you have read. This means that you can copy and re-use the materials and share your developed version freely under a similar Creative Commons Share-Alike licence. If you don't make you work available under a Creative Commons licence, then the original licence issued by Scratch no longer applies. Since you wish to sell your workbooks this would not meet these conditions and Scratch would have every right to object. Therefore you would need to contact the Scratch team to see if they will grant you a different licence to cover those aspects of your workbooks which re-use the Scratch materials.

Secondly their terms (para 5.4) specify that unless you are operating under a valid licence or agreement from Scratch, you may not use any of their trademarks to promote your workbooks. You could describe the workbooks as Scratch workbooks because that would be descriptive, but you could not use any of their logos for this purpose without permission.
Advice or comment provided here is not and does not purport to be legal advice as defined by s.12 of Legal Services Act 2007
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