About Copyright

When creating Custom Content, there may be times when you want or need to use resources that you did not create. While this is allowed, you'll need to verify that the resources you are using are not protected by copyright, trademark, or any other specific licensing or Terms of Use that would prohibit your ability to use those resource.

Unless the content/image/resource is being offered download specifically for the purpose of reuse, then assume that all other images and media you find online are protected by copyright and are not appropriate for use.

AI Generated Content

Due to the nature of how AI-generated images are created, we can no longer accept anything that is AI-generated. Since we do not know anything about the original references, or where the generative algorithm is sourcing it's material from, we have no way of knowing if the generated images are legally or ethically sourced.

Branded Content

The first thing, in accordance with EA's "The Sims™ Policy on Mods," we will not accept any content in which your preview images display plumbobs, or any official game logos:

Do not promote your Mods in a way that suggests they are endorsed by or affiliated with The Sims, Maxis, or Electronic Arts. This means you cannot use any game logos or trademarks, including versions of the plumbob, or key art designs to promote your Mods. You may state that your Mods are for The Sims 4 and/or for a specific game expansion pack.

You can read EA's full policy here.

Aside from any official EA graphics, we will not accept anything in which the content or the preview images violates any copyrights or trademarks.

Branded content will not be accepted. This includes both brand names mentioned in text, as well as brand-related materials such as logos or other official graphics. This applies to both the content itself, as well as the preview images.

Celebrity Content

We do allow celebrity-inspired sims, with some limitations:

It must be stated that the sim is "inspired by" the celebrity.
Celebrity photos can not be used in the preview images. Celebrity photos are protected by copyright to the photographer, publishing agency, etc.
Images of celebrities cannot be used in the content itself. E.G. paintings, posters, etc, cannot be made using photos of celebrities.

Entertainment Media

Content relating to mass media, such as movies, music, and games, are also generally protected by copyright.

Things like movie posters and album covers are protected by copyright and will not be accepted. This applies to any content from movies, bands, TV shows, books, comics, etc.
Content relating to media can be "inspired by," but it cannot be implied that the content was created in any official capacity as an official partnership or any other sponsored representation.
- For example, movie/TV show set locations built in The Sims™ would be "inspired by" their respective media.
Screenshots from within games are allowed in content (E.G. paintings and posters) as long as it's not an official licensed promotional image, cover art, etc.

Content taken from other games and converted to The Sims 4™ is generally not allowed, unless you are either the author of the content in its original form for the other game (such as if you are converting your own mods from Second Life, IMVU, etc) or if you have explicit written permission from the game developers to do so.

Stock Footage

Stock footage is allowed, so long as any terms of use or other licensing requirements are being upheld.

If commercial/paid stock footage is used, it's expected that you have the appropriate subscription or have paid the appropriate fees to access that content. (Adobe Stock, Shutterstock, etc.)

Some stock footage licensing terms have specific uses that are allowed or prohibited. For example, we frequently see terms of use that specific things like "for physical print media only" or "digital use prohibited." We've even seen "not allowed for use in video games" specifically stated in some licenses, so make sure you are reading the terms of what is and is not allowed!

Things to look out for:

"For Print Media Only" or "Digital Use Prohibited" etc.
Any kind of distribution or view count limit - E.G. "Allowed for up to 500 copies" or similar. There are items on TSR that have download counts in the millions, so any kind of distribution limit may quickly be exceeded!
Commercial or personal use limitations - even though all content on TSR is free, our mass distribution of content is considered to be commercial use. Any resources used in your Custom Content must be allowed for unlimited commercial use.

Found Images Online

Any images you "find" online are going to be protected by copyright, unless they are explicitly offered as stock footage with a licensing for reuse and redistribution.

The following sources for images and textures are not allowed:

General image collection sites like Pinterest, Pearl Trees, etc.
Any personal or professional gallery website belonging to an artist, photographer, painter, etc.
Any wallpaper/background websites,
Any commercial store website, such as Amazon, Walmart, etc.

The following sources for images and textures may be allowed, as long as content was taken from the appropriate section:

ArtStation offers a "Resources" section where stock footage and resources can be found/purchased.
- Personal or Commercial artwork and images from an artist's personal gallery that are not listed as a stock resource for reuse cannot be used.
DeviantArt also offers a section for stock footage and resources.
- Again, images taken from an artist's gallery that are not listed as stock footage for reuse cannot be used.
It's possible that you may find sources on Pinterest etc where people are pinning stock resources. If that is the case and you are led to a stock footage website with appropriate licensing terms, then those resources can be used.