Below is our FAQ on this topic. For the full legal document, please refer to our EULA.

Additionally, we have a FAQ regarding the Standard Royalty Free License.

If you have questions about the Editorial Royalty Free License that are not answered in this FAQ, please contact TurboSquid Help & Support.

What is the Editorial License and why would one be used?

What if I am the IP owner (advertising agency or other artist) associated with the IP in the Editorial content?

I see you have a model that is just what I need for my news-related project. What restrictions are there on my usage?

Do I have to pay royalties to the creator of purchased products every time my final product, which includes the creator's product, is distributed?

Can I buy a model from TurboSquid under the Editorial Royalty Free License, then use it to render out imagery for use anywhere within a book, poster, t-shirt or other items for sale commercially?

Under the Editorial Royalty Free License, can I purchase a model from TurboSquid and publish renders of it on a stock photography website?

I want to buy a product under the Editorial Royalty Free License from the TurboSquid library and convert it to a physical 3D object for sale elsewhere. Is this allowed?

Once I buy a product from TurboSquid, may I change it for my use?

If I buy a model to use as a template (a reference to guide the placement of my polygons and curves) for another model I am going to build from scratch, how can I use the new model? Can I sell the new model I make on TurboSquid?

What if I need the model converted to a different file format than what it is offered in?

Defect Warranty

What is the Editorial License and why would one be used?
The Editorial License restriction is an additional restriction on top of our Standard Royalty Free License. This content may not have been “cleared” with the IP rights holders associated with the image or model. So, that restricts the types of uses that are acceptable. Editorial content is only used for news-related purposes. So, if you have a news program, publication, or certain types of news-related film that type of use is permissible. However, you are ultimately responsible for any use you make of Editorial material. You should discuss your use with your own attorneys and advisors to make certain it falls within the uses that are considered Editorial. 

What if I am the IP owner (advertising agency or other artist) associated with the IP in the Editorial content?
If you have the rights necessary/clearance to use IP in certain content in a way beyond news-related purposes, then that Editorial restriction may not apply to you. Please note, this type of exception usually applies only to IP owners themselves or artists working very closely with IP owners in certain content. If you wonder if you have these rights, you probably don’t. It is up to each user individually to check with their own attorneys and advisors if they believe the Editorial restriction does not apply to them.

I see you have a model that is just what I need for my news-related project. What restrictions are there on my usage?
Our goal is to allow you the most possible flexibility in using purchased models while protecting the interests of the model's creator, any IP owner whose IP may be contained in the model, and the model's future sales. Accordingly, when you are publishing, selling, or otherwise distributing your final product you cannot distribute the purchased model in a file format that is usable by any 3D application. The purchased model has to be incorporated into your final product in a way that the end user of it cannot access the purchased model itself. For example, you should publish your final product in a proprietary, native file format so that the users of your final product cannot access the model by itself. You must not distribute with your final product in a folder (for example a .zip file) that includes the purchased models by themselves. Below are other restrictions:

1. Products may not be used on any item/product for resale, such as a video game or t-shirt.
2. Products may not be used as part of billboard, trade show or exhibit display.
3. Products may not be used in any defamatory, libelous or otherwise unlawful manner whether directly or in context or juxtaposition with specific subject matter.
4. The material may not be incorporated into a logo, trademark or service mark. For example, you can’t use a content under and Editorial License to create a logo design.
5. The material may not be used for any commercial, non-news related purpose.

Do I have to pay royalties to the creator of purchased products every time my final product, which includes the creator's product, is distributed?
No. All royalties are paid at the time of purchase for Royalty Free products. After making the royalty payment with your purchase, you obtain the perpetual usage rights for the product royalty-free. However, your purchase is bound by the other restrictions for product use and does not include the right to transfer the ownership of the product to someone else, resell the product or publish it in any format that is usable by a 3D application. Please see all the other answers in this FAQ and our EULA for more details on the permitted usage of purchased products. Note that Custom Licenses may place additional restrictions and you must review any Custom License to answer this question.

Can I buy a model from TurboSquid under the Editorial Royalty Free License, then use it to render out imagery for use anywhere within a book, poster, t-shirt or other items for sale commercially?
Not under the Editorial Royalty Free License. This is permitted under the Standard Royalty Free License.

Under the Editorial Royalty Free License, can I purchase a model from TurboSquid and publish renders of it on a stock photography website?
No. Posting renders on stock art sites is expressly prohibited by the EULA for both Standard and Editorial Royalty Free licensing.

I want to buy a product under the Editorial Royalty Free License from the TurboSquid library and convert it to a physical 3D object for sale elsewhere. Is this allowed?
Not under the Editorial Royalty Free License. This is permitted under the Standard Royalty Free License.

Once I buy a product from TurboSquid, may I change it for my use?
Absolutely, so long as the modified product is used within the scope of the license agreement. The only exception here is that simply because you have purchased a product and changed it around (applying textures, adding details, etc.) this does not grant you the right to re-distribute and sell that product as your own.

If I buy a model to use as a template (a reference to guide the placement of my polygons and curves) for another model I am going to build from scratch, how can I use the new model? Can I sell the new model I make on TurboSquid?
Using models purchased or downloaded from TurboSquid as templates is very common. You are welcome to do this and can use the new model that you made or derived from a model on TurboSquid in any way that you would use a purchased model. You will not, however, be able to resell the new model. By using the first model as a template for the creation of a new model, the new model automatically is a derivative of the purchased model. Derivatives of models may not be sold on TurboSquid or used in any manner inconsistent with the TurboSquid End User License Agreement.

What if I need the model converted to a different file format than what it is offered in?
We do offer Conversion Services.

If the product you purchased is defective and/or differs substantially from the product description and product reviews on TurboSquid's website, you may return the model for a full refund within 7 calendar days of Purchase. Please review our full Refund Policy policy.