Can I draw basic 2D plans on SketchUp and have them featured on TV without copyright issues?

Hi there

I’m a person who enjoys using SketchUp for fun, but have been approached by a TV production company who’ve asked if they can use my basic floor plan drawings (which don’t include 3D warehouse objects) for their TV show.

If I buy a SketchUp Pro licence, is it ok for me to share my drawings with them for them to use on TV? Are there any copyright issues?

If you buy a pro license you can sell your SketchUp work. And you own the copyrights to your work unless you grant them the rights. They’ll likely have a contract for you that specifies who owns the rights to your work. They may consider that they are buying exclusive rights to the work they are paying you for. Decide if it’s worth it to you to do that. It probably is but you want to consider what else you might want to do with the model you’ve created.

This is really useful! How do you know this out of interest

I think the main thing I was worried about what whether SketchUp or Trimble have any right or any issues with my drawings being on television??

I do SketchUp and LayOut work for clients. Some of them own the copyrights to the work as part of their contract with me. Others don’t. I also spent many years as a photographer and the same sort of thing applies.

SketchUp and Trimble won’t have any issues with your drawings being on television. They’d be happy to see that. The only thing they’d be concerned about is that you are a licensed SketchUp user since you’d be selling your work done with it. If you wanted, you could add “This drawing was made with SketchUp” and give them some free advertising. :smiley: I’m sure they wouldn’t request that from you, though.

Thanks for taking the time to respond to me, that’s really useful information!

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It is always best to read the agreement …

Perhaps you can work things so that the production company buys the Pro license and lets you use it to create their content.

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