Copyright and tweaking

If you want to create your own fractals to perhaps display them on a web site or to sell prints, it is 

important to respect copyright issues and make sure you own your fractals completely. Fortunately, 

this is quite straightforward.

The best way to be sure that you are creating an original new fractal is by starting from scratch. You 

can either start from the 

default fractal

 that is opened when starting Ultra Fractal, or by clicking New 

on the File menu, and then Fractal. You can freely use all 

formulas

, 

transformations

, and 

coloring 

algorithms

 that come with Ultra Fractal or that are in the 

public formula database

.

If you start a fractal by modifying someone else s fractal, creating something original is less easy. 

The general consensus is that if you make enough modifications so that your fractal does not look 

like the original fractal anymore, the copyright from the original fractal no longer applies. This could 

include selecting different fractal formulas or coloring algorithm, zooming in or out, modifying 

parameters, and so on. The distinction between making enough modifications and barely changing 

the original fractal is subjective, of course. Therefore, you should always contact the creator of the 

original fractal to ask for permission before considering your derived fractal to be yours only.

As mentioned above, formulas are free to use. However, modifying formulas is another issue. 

Generally, you can modify formulas for your own use, but you may not distribute them. If you want 

to distribute a modified formula, you must ask the original formula author for permission first.

See Also

Fractal windows

Public formulas

Mailing list

Writing formulas

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