commercial Vs non-commercial

What is difference between commercial and non-commercial website?

Just putting adsense make the website or blog commercial?

Please advise.

Thanks

 

Commercial means you are trying to make money, non commercial means you aren't trying to make money money. Sites with adsense on them are generally commercial, but would be considered non-commericial if you are just breaking even thanks to hosting costs etc.

 

While there can be a grey area, a commercial site is usually a site that takes in any form of income (adsense, donations for bandwidth, dues, etc) - whether or not it makes a profit is different than having a commercial intent i.e. if you claim fair use of a photograph and your site runs advertising, it's still a commercial site even though you might not make a net profit.

 

thanks much for your response. Is there any definitive reference for this according to US law?

 

In the US, a site that takes in any form of income is generally considered commercial. In the case of fair use, there are several factors that are considered:

1. the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;

2. the nature of the copyrighted work;

3. the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and

4. the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.

Even if a site didn't take in income, it wouldn't prevent a copyright holder from suing. It can cost tens of thousands (or even hundreds of thousands) in legal fees to argue your case of "fair use".

It would probably be best to consult with an attorney on your exact situation. If you're talking about "fair use" for images, I would say that most people who claim it in order to use copyrighted images without permission would certainly lose in a US court of law.