If Kamomo were only a printer, copyright issues would not be particularly complicated.
Users would print their own photos, illustrations, and designs, while the machine would simply handle the printing and cutting.
But once Kamomo began building a materials community—allowing creators to upload their work and other users to browse and print it—the situation changed.
At that point, we were no longer just designing a piece of hardware.
We were also designing a set of rules around:
- How work is shared
- How it is used
- How creators retain control over it
For us, this is not an additional feature. It is a prerequisite for building a content platform.
1. Sharing a Work Should Not Mean Giving Away the Original File
When creators upload a set of sticker materials to the platform, they usually hope that more people will see, use, or even purchase their work.
However, allowing others to use a work and giving them the high-resolution original file are two entirely different things.
For example, an illustrator may allow users to print their work as a few stickers for personal use.
That does not mean the user also receives:
- The high-resolution original image
- An editable source file
- The right to redistribute the work
- The right to sell it commercially
- The right to sublicense it
Therefore, when designing Kamomo’s content system, we aim to clearly distinguish between:
- Viewing a work
- Using a work
- Printing a work
- Downloading a work
- Using a work commercially
These actions involve different rights.
2. The Right to Print Is Not the Right to Download
This is an important principle in Kamomo’s content system.
When a creator authorizes other users to print their work, users receive a specific type of usage permission.
For example:
They may print the work through Kamomo for personal creative use.
But that does not mean users must also receive a high-resolution file that they can freely save.
This is why we believe that printing and downloading should be treated as two separate permissions.
From a user experience perspective, a user’s goal may simply be to receive a physical sticker.
From the creator’s perspective, there is no need to hand over a freely copyable original file just to complete that print.
By separating these two actions, the platform can strike a more reasonable balance between ease of use and protection of creative work.
3. Why the Web Version Only Provides Official Materials
Kamomo supports connecting to the machine through the mobile app, iPad, and a computer web browser.
However, content permissions are not exactly the same across every platform.
At present, on the web version, we prefer to provide only official Kamomo materials rather than directly opening the complete material libraries shared by other creators.
The reason is simple:
A browser is a relatively open environment.
Once high-resolution images are fully loaded on a webpage, it becomes difficult for the platform to fully control how users handle that content afterward.
Users may save materials through browser features, developer tools, screenshots, or other methods.
Even if the platform removes a standard “Download” button, that does not truly mean the file is protected.
Rather than assuming that a simple button can solve copyright issues, we prefer to acknowledge the limitations of the web environment at the product-design level.
For materials that Kamomo holds full rights to use, the web version can remain open.
For works created by third-party creators, we will be more cautious.
4. The App and iPad Offer a More Controlled Usage Environment
Within the App and iPad experience, we can define a clearer path for how works are used.
For example:
Users can browse works.
Select materials they want to print.
Adjust the size and quantity.
Send the print job to Kamomo.
But the platform does not need to provide a direct download option for high-resolution original files at the same time.
In other words, we aim to give users:
the ability to use a work
rather than:
the ability to obtain the original file.
This does not technically eliminate every form of screenshotting, re-photographing, or unauthorized use. Nor should we promise creators that there is zero risk of copying.
However, compared with directly offering original-file downloads, a controlled printing workflow can significantly reduce the ease of bulk acquisition and redistribution.
This is what we consider a more practical form of protection.
5. Copyright Protection Is Not Just About Adding a Watermark
Many content platforms take the most direct approach to copyright protection:
- Adding watermarks
- Disabling right-click
- Reducing image resolution
These measures can help to some extent, but they do not truly solve the core issue.
What really needs to be defined is:
What rights has the user actually obtained?
For Kamomo, it is more important to separate permissions clearly:
| Action | Does It Automatically Mean Copyright Ownership? |
|---|---|
| Browsing a work | No |
| Saving a work to favorites | No |
| Printing under authorization | No |
| Downloading the original file | No |
| Modifying a work | Depends on the authorization |
| Commercial sales | Depends on the authorization |
| Re-uploading or redistributing | Depends on the authorization |
A work appearing on the platform does not mean it has entered the public domain.
The work still belongs to its creator, and both the platform and users should use it within the scope of the granted authorization.
6. Why This Matters Especially for a Materials Platform
The value of a materials platform depends largely on whether creators are willing to continue uploading high-quality content.
If creators believe:
“As soon as I upload it, the high-resolution file will quickly be saved and shared everywhere,”
then the more open the platform becomes, the less willing creators may be to share their best work.
Over time, this can lead to a poor outcome:
Creators stop uploading original content.
Users see fewer high-quality materials.
The platform eventually becomes filled with low-value or highly repetitive content.
Copyright protection is therefore not only about protecting individual creators’ rights.
It also directly affects the quality of the entire content ecosystem.
7. Creators Need to Know How Their Work Will Be Used
We believe that a reasonable content system should minimize ambiguity.
When creators upload their work, they should be able to understand:
- Where their work will be displayed
- What other users can do with it
- Whether printing is allowed
- Whether commercial use is allowed
- Whether downloading is allowed
- Whether modification is allowed
- Whether they can earn revenue from it
Likewise, when users use a work, they should understand:
- What type of license or authorization they have purchased or received
- Which actions fall outside the permitted scope of use
This is far more meaningful than simply writing:
“All rights reserved. Unauthorized use prohibited.”
8. We Do Not Want Protection Mechanisms to Ruin the Normal User Experience
There is another extreme when it comes to copyright protection.
If every step becomes overly complicated in an attempt to prevent every possible form of copying, the platform itself will not be sustainable either.
Therefore, we are not trying to achieve:
Absolute prevention of every form of copying.
That is very difficult to accomplish in reality.
Our goal is more practical:
To reduce opportunities for high-resolution original files to be directly obtained, downloaded in bulk, and distributed outside the platform—without significantly increasing the cost or complexity of normal use.
At the same time, we want the scope of authorization for each work to be as clear as possible.
For creators, this means reducing the risks of sharing their work.
For users, this means keeping the printing and creative process simple.
These are the two things we are truly trying to balance.