Different Types of Resell Rights and What They Mean

When you buy products over the internet, they will occasionally come with resell rights as part of the package. There are many terms to describe what rights you will be getting to resell a product, but it can be difficult to know exactly what these terms are supposed to mean. Many sellers promise certain rights but do not actually use the terms correctly, so it is important to be familiar with what they mean and to ask the seller of the product directly if you have any issues with what they are offering.

Basic Resell Rights: When a product comes with basic resell rights it means you can sell the product on and keep the profits. However, you should not sell it along with resell rights or change the product in any way. There may be certain other terms on the sale of the item set by the seller, so check the specific details of the rights you are getting.

Master Resell Rights: With this type of resell rights you are able to sell the product and sell on resell rights to your customers, and your customers can do the same. This is a step up from basic resell rights. You do not have to include the resell rights when you sell the product if the rules of your specific license allows this, but it may make the purchase seem more attractive to potential buyers, and you can charge a little extra for the privilege.

Although you can sell on the rights, you are still not permitted to alter the product. In many cases there may also be rules on the methods you can use to sell the product, such as selling it on auction sites or putting it on CDs. Check your individual license for details.

Private Label (Resell) Rights: Private label resell rights give you the same benefits as master resell rights as well as permission to alter the product. This means that you can edit, for example, text of an eBook: change certain paragraphs, reorder it or even split it into smaller articles. In most cases you may also use your name as the creator of the product and possibly include your own URL within the product.

However, you will not always be completely free to do what you want. The degree of alterations you are allowed to make depends upon your specific license. Some may permit any alteration, where others may only permit a simple change of author name. Some licenses can be transferred when you sell on the product, and some cannot.

Other Types of Resell Rights

Alongside these three basic rights, they may include further instructions as to what you can and cannot do with the product. Here is a rundown of what these all mean:

Nontransferable Rights: This term means that whatever rights you receive when you purchase the product, you cannot transfer these to those who you subsequently sell the product to. Your customers will not be able to sell the product, modify it, or give it away.

Personal Use Rights: This means that you can only personally enjoy the product. Similar to non-transferable rights, you will not be able to sell the product, reproduce it, give it away or alter it. You might get basic resell rights, but if the terms include personal use rights then the customers you sell it to cannot sell it on themselves.

Give Away Rights: This means you can give the product away for free, for example to subscribers of your newsletter. Give away rights may also forbid you to sell the product for money.

Reprint Rights: This means that you can reprint the product without selling it or modifying it. An example of this is finding an article in a directory and reprinting it on your own website keeping its original form and author byline intact.

Unrestricted Rights: Products with unrestricted rights will not come with a license full of rules regarding your resell rights. When you get unrestricted basic resell rights, it means that you can sell the product by whatever medium you choose. Whereas unrestricted private label rights means you can alter the product however you want without rules, and so on.

Rebranding Rights: Rebranding rights mean that you are allowed to modify specific parts of the product specified by its creator. For example, you may be able to change the links in the product to your own affiliate links, or change the title to your own. The license will also specify whether you are allowed to sell the product or give it away. Such products may come with a rebranding tool to make the process easier for you.

Royalty Rights: This means that you will need to pay the creator of the product a royalty each time you sell the product. Hence, you will not get 100% of the profit like you would with many resell licenses. This differs from being an affiliate because you control the way you sell the item and its marketing. Royalty rights will usually not allow you to pass on any rights to those you sell the product to.

Foreign Language Rights: These rights mean that you are permitted to translate the product into a different language. Usually each license will only permit translation into one language, so you will need multiple language rights to translate it into more than one language. Usually once you purchase a foreign language rights license you will also get a resell rights that allows you to sell it on, modify it, give it away and so on. Check your specific license to make sure.

Conclusion

When looking at specific resell rights, you should note that resell and resale are interchangeable terms often used to describe resell rights, and that most licenses will combine two or more of the above rights to create a specific list of rules for what you can and cannot do with the product. You should always check your license carefully and contact the seller if unsure.

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