Online Marketing From Home

Private Label Rights or PLR’s, as it is commonly referred to, is often misunderstood or misinterpreted, especially by new online marketers. However, I have also come across some experienced internet marketers that make assumptions about the meaning of the term without really understanding it…

Why is it so important to understand the meaning of PLR or Private Label Rights?

Well, I recently had two unpleasant experiences… I am going to save you the details. Suffice to say that if you are planning on buying or selling a product with “rights” you need to make sure that you, as well as the buyer / seller, are on the same page! 

The main problem is that there is no generally accepted definition of Private Label Rights or PLR’s. It can mean many different things to different people. Get it wrong or make the wrong assumption and you may be in for a nasty surprise.  

Let’s quickly have a look at the most common “rights” you can receive when buying a product. I am specifically referring to ebooks although many software programs are also sold with these “rights”.

Personal Rights or Personal Usage Rights  

Unless a product comes with any other “rights” you should assume that you only have personal rights – It is only for your own personal use. You may not change it, divulge the information to others, plagiarize it, sell it, or give it away. 

Resell Rights / RR

Remark: Many people use the term “Resale” i/o “Resell”. Does not matter. It’s the same thing.

By acquiring Resell Rights you are entitled to sell the product to others. However, your buyers may not sell the product as well. They will only have “personal rights”.

As is the case with Personal Rights, you may not change it, divulge the information to others, or copy / plagiarize it.

Note: Some resell right sellers might allow you to “re-brand” parts of the ebook (normally affiliate links) but you may not change anything else.

Many resell right sellers impose restrictions on how you may sell the product. They may stipulate that the ebook must not be given away for free but must be sold (for any price) or not below a certain price. Many also stipulate that it may not be sold on auction sites, such as eBay – Afraid the value of the product will be devalued.

Note: Some will allow you to give the ebook away for free as a bonus to another product you are selling or an incentive for people to subscribe to your newsletter or ezine, but will not allow you to give it away as a standalone product.

Master Resell Rights / MRR

Master Resell Rights or MRR is similar to Resell Rights, with one exception:

You may also allow your buyers to sell the product to their own customers.

Important: (Many people get this wrong)

Master Resell Rights can be either Transferable, or Non-Transferable.

Transferable MRR – With Transferable Master Resell Rights you may also pass the MRR to your customers and they may also pass the MRR to their customers, etc.

Non-Transferable MRR – With Non-Transferable Master Resell Rights you may only pass Resell Rights to your customers, not MRR. In other words, your customers may sell the product to their customers but their customers are not allowed to sell it as well.

Private Label Rights / PLR

By acquiring Private Label Rights you are normally entitled to change the product as if you created it, e.g. edit the content, break the ebook up into articles and add your name as the author. 

Note (1): Some sellers will require you to change at least a certain percentage of the ebook before selling it while others will allow you to sell the ebook “as is” (you can simply add your name as the author).

Note (2): It is normal for sellers to stipulate that you cannot claim copyright unless you have made significant changes. (It will be a ridiculous for 20 people to claim copyright to the same PLR ebook that none of have them have written in the first place…)

Important: (Many people get this wrong)

Private Label Rights can be either Limited, or Unlimited.

Limited PLR’s – Certain restrictions are placed on what you may to with the PLR’s. The most “common” restriction is that you are not allowed to sell or give away the PLR’s to anyone.   

Unlimited PLR’s – As the term implies, you can basically do anything with the ebook as no restrictions are imposed or implied.

Advice For Buyers    

Never make assumptions. If you are buying a product with Resell Rights, Master Resell Rights or Private Label Rights and are not 100% sure what right you are getting, always contact the seller for clarification. Get it black on white and file it in a safe place!

Tip: Very often sellers include a “read-me” file in a zip folder when you buy and download a product, stipulating your “rights”. Make a point of printing & filing your “rights”. You are not going to remember it!

Advice For Sellers

Be very clear what rights you are offering. Don’t just say “Private Label Rights” or “PLR’s” without further clarification, unless you really do not care at all what the buyer does with the product. Protect yourself by being as specific as possible.

Trust this article has clarified some of the more important points surrounding “rights” in general and Private Label Rights / PLR’s in particular. 

This entry was posted on Friday, November 23rd, 2007 at 4:06 pm and is filed under Private Label Rights. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.