November 16, 2019
Stock Artwork Policy for Design Submissions
DURATION
5 min readcategories
Tags
share
Your submission CANNOT contain any stock art, clipart, icons, or “free” elements from the web. All items you design and submit within a Topcoder Design Challenge must be created solely by you (as original artwork) or be provided by the client as part of the challenge inputs. Note, we treat icons differently. You can view the Icon Policy here.
The exception to this rule is when a Design challenge allows Stock Artwork. Every challenge clearly states whether or not stock artwork is allowed. If the challenge allows it, you will need to abide by the following rules:
You must document your Stock Artwork (photos, illustrations) when submitting. (This helps a customer find the Stock Artwork for purchasing or attribution later)
You are allowed to use stock photos and stock illustrations. If you use any Stock Artwork (anything!) in your design it MUST BE DOCUMENTED. This includes Unsplash, Pexels, and client/ challenge provided artwork or photos.
You are only allowed to use Stock Artwork from the provided websites:
Watermark: You MUST keep the stock watermark intact. If the photo is cropped in such a way that the watermark is not visible, please be sure to include the entire watermarked image in your source files so Screeners can review and see where the image is from. When using either Unsplash or Pexels, where a watermark is not included on the image, please add either “Unsplash” or “Pexels” text on top of the image somewhere.
If the challenge does not allow Stock Artwork (photos or illustrations), it will clearly state this in the challenge details page.
Stock Illustrations: Stock Illustrations are allowed but you must treat them like “stock photos”. You are NOT allowed to edit any illustration and claim it as your own artwork. You are not allowed to trace stock illustrations and claim them as your own artwork. Stock Illustrations MUST include proper watermarks and source documentation.
Personal Photos: You are allowed to create and use your own photography. Make sure to attribute the photo to yourself. If you include your own photography the licensing must be free for the customer to use (if you are a prize winner).
Client Supplied Assets: Any assets supplied as part of the challenge can be used in your designs. These assets MUST still be declared as part of your submission.
Things to Remember
We screen all design submissions for copyright infringement and proper source documentation.
All designs must be created by you
DO NOT COPY OR TRACE EXISTING ARTWORK
Make sure you understand the Topcoder Terms, Official Design Contest Rules, and check each contest for more information and what is allowed in that challenge before you submit.