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DON'T BUY THIS PRODUCT
ClickArt contains 1,200,000 images you can't use
By David Gewirtz
We don't like to write negative reviews. We'd rather have the company fix the problem and then tell you about products you should buy. But when a company goes out of its way to snooker our readers, we need to let you know. In this case, the company is Broderbund, the product is ClickArt 1,200,000. Don't buy this product.
"When a company goes out of its way to snooker our readers, we need to let you know."
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We're very disappointed in Broderbund, one of the oldest, and heretofore, one of the most respected PC software companies. But with the ClickArt product, Broderbund has gone out of its way to rip you off and, potentially, set you or your company up for some serious liability.
The issue is this: a clipart collection is purchased so you can use images in your projects. Some collections have restrictions on use. That's ok if the restrictions are made clear at the outset. Our complaint with the ClickArt product is the big text on the packaging indicates that you can use the product for anything, but the very, very, very small print says the opposite.
Special thanks go to reader Erika Birgit for pointing out this $49 product, which she bought in her local CompUSA store. She tells us she has a small online blog, from which she makes a few hundred dollars a month. Thinking she could spice up her site, she bought the product, shown in Figure A.
FIGURE A
 
Don't be misled by this product Roll over picture for a larger image.
Nothing on the box's cover indicates any limitations on image use. In fact, the promo line "Professional Business Templates" seems to imply that the product can be used for business.
Turning the box over provides further misrepresentations. As you can see in Figure B, the packaging indicates the product is perfect for any project.
FIGURE B
 
Perfect for any project except for your business Roll over picture for a larger image.
As you can see, the promo box lists projects like brochures, business presentations, newsletters, stationary, signs, and Web pages. The lower promo box again talks about business templates.
For $49, this seemed like a great product and Erika decided to make the purchase. It wasn't until she got home that she noticed the very fine print at the bottom of the box. And when I say very fine print, I'm talking about 2-point type. You can see this in Figure C.
FIGURE C
 
This image is at 4x magnification. When you click through, the larger image is shown at 6x magnification. And the text is still microscopic. Roll over picture for a larger image.
In the figure, we've flagged the offending text by surrounding it in a red box. No such spotlighting was done on the packaging. So what does it say? Here goes:
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