What Is an Artwork Licence?

An artwork licence gives you permission to use Kakuto Studios artwork under agreed conditions.

Depending on the licence you purchase, you may be able to use the artwork for things like:

• Club merchandise
• T-shirts
• Hoodies
• Rash guards
• Posters
• Stickers
• Social media graphics
• Event merch
• Limited product drops
• Marketing campaigns connected to the licensed artwork

The licence tells you:

• What you can use the artwork for
• How long you can use it
• How many physical units you can produce
• Whether the licence is commercial, extended, exclusive or part of a Full Brand Pack
• Whether you can sell products using the artwork
• Whether you can modify or customise the artwork
• What happens when the licence term ends

You Are Licensing the Artwork, Not Buying the Copyright

This is the most important part.

When you purchase a licence, Kakuto Studios still owns the original artwork, copyright, files, concepts and intellectual property.

Your licence gives you permission to use the artwork in the ways included in your selected licence.

This means you cannot claim the artwork as your own, resell the artwork as a standalone design, upload it to stock websites, include it in design packs, use it for AI training, or transfer the licence to another person or business.

Commercial Licence

Our Commercial Licence is designed for businesses, gyms, academies, clubs and organisations that want to use existing Kakuto Studios artwork for commercial merch and promotional use.

This may include uses such as:

• Selling apparel using the artwork
• Creating club merchandise
• Using the artwork in a product drop
• Promoting your gym, club, event or brand
• Using the artwork in approved marketing material
• Applying the artwork to approved physical products

Commercial licences are designed for organisations that want strong, professional artwork without commissioning fully custom work.

Standard Commercial Licence

Our standard Commercial Licence is designed for small brands, gyms, clubs and businesses that want to use existing Kakuto Studios artwork for a specific commercial purpose.

Standard Commercial Licence Includes:

• 12 months of commercial usage from the date of purchase
• Use by one business, gym, academy, club or organisation
• Use for commercial merchandise production
• Use in related marketing and promotional material
• Production of up to 500 physical units during the active licence term, unless otherwise stated on the product page or approved in writing
• Use with third-party printers or decorators solely for your own licensed merchandise
• Non-exclusive rights unless stated otherwise
• No transfer of copyright ownership
• No resale of the artwork as a standalone asset

The Standard Commercial Licence Is Ideal For:

• BJJ gyms launching rash guards
• Martial arts clubs creating merch
• Fitness brands creating a limited apparel drop
• Small apparel brands testing a design
• Event organisers producing limited-run merchandise
• Businesses wanting art-led merch without custom artwork costs

What Does “12 Months” Mean?

A 12-month licence means you can use the artwork commercially for 12 months from the date of purchase, unless otherwise stated on the product page or agreed in writing.

During that period, you may use the artwork within the approved licence terms.

Once the 12-month licence period ends, you must either:

• Stop new commercial use of the artwork
• Renew the licence
• Request extended use
• Discuss a new licence arrangement with Kakuto Studios

You may continue to sell, distribute or use existing merchandise that was lawfully produced during the active licence period.

However, after the licence ends, you cannot produce new merchandise, create new promotional material, or begin new commercial use of the artwork unless the licence is renewed or extended.

Production Limits

Unless otherwise stated on the product page or approved in writing by Kakuto Studios, the standard Commercial Licence allows production of up to 500 physical units during the active licence term.

This limit helps keep the licence fair for small clubs, gyms and brands while protecting the value of the artwork.

If you need to produce more than 500 units, please contact Kakuto Studios before production. A higher-volume or extended licence may be required.

One Licence, One Club or Business

Each licence applies to one club, academy, gym, business, organisation or legal entity only.

A separate licence is required for each unrelated club, branch, franchise, team, business or organisation unless otherwise agreed in writing.

Basically: one licence does not cover every gym your mate owns, every affiliate branch, or every brand under the sun.

Extended Use

Extended use is available by request.

An extended licence or renewal may allow you to continue producing new merchandise or starting new commercial uses of the artwork beyond the original 12-month licence term.

Extended use may be suitable if:

• The artwork becomes a strong seller for your club
• You want to restock after the first licence term
• You want to keep using the design for another season
• You want to produce more than the standard unit limit
• You want broader commercial usage than the standard licence allows

Renewal pricing, availability, duration, production limits and terms are at Kakuto Studios’ discretion.

Extended use does not transfer ownership, does not grant exclusivity, and does not remove the restrictions in the Digital Product Licence Agreement unless expressly agreed in writing.

Full Brand Pack Licence

Where offered, the Full Brand Pack Licence provides broader access to editable, production-ready, mockup and promotional assets supplied within the purchased Brand Pack.

Unless otherwise stated on the product page, the Full Brand Pack Licence is valid for 12 months from the date of purchase and is subject to the same ownership, usage, restriction, renewal and termination terms as the standard agreement.

Full Brand Pack inclusions, production limits and usage rights will be described on the relevant product page at the time of purchase.

Exclusive Licence

Unless expressly stated on the product page or agreed in writing, purchase of a licence does not grant exclusivity.

An exclusive licence may reserve the artwork for one approved licensee within agreed terms, such as category, region, timeframe or usage scope.

Exclusive licences are more expensive because they limit how Kakuto Studios can use and license that artwork in the future.

Exclusive Licensing May Suit:

• Established apparel brands
• Larger fightwear brands
• Major gyms or clubs
• Event campaigns
• Brands wanting a unique hero artwork
• Businesses wanting stronger protection around a specific design

Exclusive does not automatically mean copyright ownership is transferred.

Unless agreed in writing, Kakuto Studios still owns the original artwork and copyright.

What Happens When a Licence Expires?

When your licence expires, your right to begin new commercial use of the artwork ends.

This means you cannot continue:

• Producing new products with the artwork
• Ordering new product runs using the artwork
• Launching new campaigns with the artwork
• Creating new marketing materials using the artwork
• Creating new merchandise with the artwork
• Supplying the artwork to manufacturers for further production

You may continue to sell, distribute or use existing stock that was lawfully produced during the active licence term.

You may contact Kakuto Studios before expiry to renew or request extended use.

How Renewals Work

If you want to continue using the artwork after your licence period ends, you can request a renewal or extended licence.

Renewals are subject to:

• Artwork availability
• Licence type
• Previous usage
• Whether exclusivity has been requested by another party
• Whether the artwork is still available for commercial licensing
• Whether the original licence terms were followed

To avoid interruptions, we recommend contacting Kakuto Studios before your licence expires.

Renewal pricing may vary depending on the length of the extension, usage type and commercial scope.

What You Can Do

Depending on your licence, you may be able to:

• Use the artwork for approved commercial products
• Use the artwork on approved apparel or merchandise
• Use mockups to promote your licensed product
• Use the artwork in social media posts promoting the approved product
• Use the artwork in email marketing for the approved product
• Produce and sell approved items during the active licence period
• Use third-party printers or decorators solely for your own licensed production
• Renew or request extended use if you want continued use

What You Cannot Do

Unless agreed in writing, you cannot:

• Claim the artwork as your own
• Resell the artwork as a standalone file
• Upload the artwork to stock asset sites
• Upload the artwork to print-on-demand platforms without written approval
• Turn the artwork into templates for resale
• Include the artwork in digital design packs
• Sell the artwork as clipart, SVGs, PNG packs or downloadable assets
• Transfer the licence to another person or business
• Give the editable files to another business to use for their own project
• Modify the artwork and claim authorship
• Use the artwork after the licence expires for new commercial use
• Use the artwork for products, campaigns or categories not included in your licence
• Use the artwork for offensive, hateful, illegal or misleading purposes
• Use the artwork for AI or machine learning training
• Register the underlying artwork as a trademark

Basically: use the art for the thing you licensed it for. Don’t be dodgy with it.

Can I Make Changes to the Artwork?

Kakuto Studios artwork is sold as existing artwork, not fully custom design work.

Some purchases or add-on services may include limited setup adjustments, such as:

• Adding your logo
• Minor placement changes
• Minor colour changes if approved
• Preparing the file for an approved product type
• Creating simple mockup previews

This does not include full custom redesigns, endless revisions, new illustration work, major composition changes, or “can we just try 14 different versions?” energy.

If you need custom artwork, that may be quoted separately.

Third-Party Printers and Vendors

You may send the artwork files to third-party printers or production vendors solely for the purpose of producing your licensed merchandise.

Your printer does not receive ownership or licensing rights to the artwork.

Your printer may not reuse, resell, redistribute, retain, upload or repurpose the files for unrelated projects.

You remain responsible for how your vendors, printers, employees, contractors and representatives use the artwork.

Simple Examples

Example 1: BJJ Gym Rash Guard Drop

A BJJ gym licences an existing Kakuto Studios artwork for a rash guard drop.

They purchase a standard 12-month Commercial Licence.

They can use the artwork for the approved rash guard design, promote the drop, sell the rash guards during the licence period, and sell remaining stock that was produced during the active licence term.

They cannot produce new stock after the licence expires unless they renew or request extended use.

Example 2: Apparel Brand Limited Drop

An apparel brand licences artwork for a limited T-shirt and hoodie release.

The artwork can be used for the approved apparel drop and related marketing during the licence term, up to the approved production limit.

If the design sells well and the brand wants to restock, expand the product range, or continue using it after 12 months, they can request extended use.

Example 3: Event Merch

An event organiser licences artwork for a one-off tournament merch range.

They use the artwork on event tees, posters and social media promotion during the active licence term.

Once the event campaign and licence period end, they cannot continue producing new merch using the artwork unless they renew or request extended use.

Why Licensing Instead of Custom Artwork?

Licensing existing artwork is faster, cleaner and more cost-effective than commissioning custom artwork from scratch.

It allows you to access original, high-quality artwork without the full cost, timeline and revision process of custom design.

• You get a strong visual asset.
• We keep the process simple.
• Everyone avoids the custom-work rabbit hole.

Lovely.

Need Something More Specific?

If you want broader usage, a longer licence term, increased production volume, exclusivity, or a custom application, contact Kakuto Studios before purchasing or using the artwork outside the listed licence terms.

We can advise whether a standard Commercial Licence, extended use arrangement, exclusive licence or custom agreement is the best fit.