I'm building a commercial SaaS product with a canvas-based design editor, similar to Canva, and I want to include a built-in library of modern templates, SVGs, and other vector assets. I'm considering sources such as Vecteezy, Freepik, and similar marketplaces, but I'm unsure whether their free assets can legally be bundled into software that users access and use commercially. What licensing restrictions should I watch for, especially around attribution, redistribution, templates, and users selling designs created with the assets? Recommendations for reliable libraries with clear commercial-friendly SVG licenses would also be helpful.
2 Answers
Don’t assume that a free download means you can freely package the asset inside a commercial editor. Check the current license for each provider and asset, paying particular attention to attribution, sublicensing, embedding, modification, redistribution, and products for resale. For a template library, it’s also worth getting written confirmation from the provider or consulting an intellectual-property lawyer, because your customers’ downstream use may require a different business or extended license.
Vecteezy’s licensing information indicates that its content can be used in software and apps as a form of digital use. However, free-license usage generally requires attribution. If you don’t want to display attribution, you would typically need the appropriate paid license. You should also review the license’s limits for redistribution and resale, since those may differ depending on whether your SaaS includes the assets in an editable library or lets customers sell finished products.
Thanks, that clarification about digital use and attribution is really helpful.