Licence change

[daniel_lyall]

Since startup and hobby are lumped together a lot of people think they can use hobby commercially, to me this is incorrect.

The terms are set like below 

Startup: If your entitlement has been designated as “Startup, ” You may use the service if You are (a) a company, startup, or home-based business that generates less than $100,000 (or equivalent in other currency) per year from the total sale of goods or services, or (b) an individual using the service for personal non-commercial projects, hobbies, or personal learning.

It is this part they are understanding.

(b) an individual using the service for personal non-commercial projects, hobbies, or personal learning. 

To me, this means if you are hobbyist you are under the startup licences but are not to use it to make money.

[prainsberry]

I think the subtlety here is that you must meet the criteria for either a OR b.   If you meet the criteria for a, then you are using it commercially, ideally, to start your business.  If you meet the criteria for b, then you are using it in a truly non-commercial way.  In either case your access to the software is the same.

[daniel_lyall]

Yep, the access is the same.

It's just people getting told you can make money off it if you use it as a hobby and they are hobby users, not startups. 

It would be bad for the user to get caught out and lose access because someone said they can make money using it as a hobby.

[mroek]

There will be corner cases, I think. What about a Youtuber that uses Fusion to create free designs that they make videos about? They may make money off of the video, but not the design itself. Is this commercial use?

It is also tricky to distinguish between a hobby user that may create designs that they make just a little money on (and magnitudes of order less than $100k), but who does not intend to start a company (hence not a startup by definition).

If this is deemed commercial use, then these users are expected to pay the full price, while the startups that meet the defintion and actually make significant money on their Fusion designs (but less than $100k), are still entitled to use it for free?

I think many hobbyists might see this as illogical and unfair.

[prainsberry]

I think there is still some misunderstanding here, none of these groups should feel that it is unfair. 

With regards to youtube videos I would say that if someone is making more than $100k off of their channel with Fusion 360 videos then they probably should/could pay for a commercial license. 

For the second scenario you describe I will say that we had quite a bit of discussion about that.  I am very familiar with this, as I myself do it from time to time and have many friends that also do.  When we updated these terms I was explicit that we adjust the wording of the commercial section to include "home based businesses."  Again this would fall under the $100K ceiling. 

Realistically, in my opinion, if you are selling a $100,000 worth of custom furniture out of your garage, that you designed and programed with Fusion 360,  you should probably pay for a license.  If you are basically selling a piece here and there mostly to keep yourself in supply of raw materials and router bits, then we support you taking advantage of the startup entitlement.  

So to be clear for any of the scenarios where you are generating revenue and it is less than $100k, or you are using it for pure hobby use, the deal is still the same: free access to Fusion 360.  

[mroek]

Thank you for clearing up any confusion here! Really appreciate that!

And I absolutely agree that anyone that makes serious money with Fusion, whether it be Youtube videos or custom furniture should pay for a license! My point was just that a hobbyist who makes a little bit of money using Fusion should be allowed to do so, given that startup companies can make up to $100k without purchasing one or more licenses.

And now you made it clear that this is in fact OK, so no more confusion. 🙂

[mroek]

@prainsberry: Today I got a notice about license renewal, and it turns out I am somewhat confused after all...

I didn't realize that now there is a explicit choice between "Startup" and "Personal", which I can't remember seeing a year ago when I last renewed.

If I choose "Startup" (which is what I have this current term), I am asked to enter a company name and a company website address. I can also choose non-commercial (giving me a "Personal" license), but since I have been selling some 3D-prints of my designs, I feel that the honest thing to do is to choose "Startup", since "Personal" explicitly states "non-commercial".

I don't really have a company name and website (although I have registered a personal company for a different purpose many years ago, but it isn't in any way active), so is it then OK to enter just my name in the company name field if I choose "Startup"? Or can I just leave these fields blank (it appears I may do that too).

Or should I choose "Personal" instead, despite the fact that I from time to time sell some prints of my designs?

Sorry if I am being dense here (which I probably am).

[prainsberry]

In this case, technically you should choose startup. Your end result is the same. If you do not have a company or a website then you can enter “None” or something like that. I appreciate your diligence in adhering to our policies.

[mroek]

Great, thanks! I'll choose "Startup" then, and I'll enter the name of my personal company, even if it's really just a sleeping entity.

[RDPRobotics]

I'm a little late to this post. So in my case, a question would be I've been doing the startup license but was mixing home use and commercial projects. When the pandemic hit I switched away from the type of products I was in process on and have been working mainly on learning algorithms for COVID treatment, so very very little CAD if any. I have a company registered and it is technically older than 3 years though it was  not active until late 2018 or early 2019. So though I might slowly work on robotics designs I was in process on, I won't be making any money for quite a while and it's definitely going to be under 100k by far. I'm mainly (99.999%) using Fusion for personal use, but I'd like to keep access to the existing files. Am I right that I cannot renew the startup license? If I change to personal use, will I lose access to my files since it is a different type of account?