Is it ethical to sell an animated MIT licensed icon set?
I recently used LordIcons on my website and I'm pleased with how they turned out. Before coming across LordIcons, I noticed there really wasn't a lot of animated icon libraries out there on the market, and it got me thinking, "Should I use my design and animation skills to create a small library and sell it?"
In my research I came across useAnimations, an NPM package to easily use animated Lottie files. The icon designs are inspired by an open source library called Feather. I liked the idea of using an open source icon library to save time designing, but it feels wrong to sell an animated version even if it's technically legal under an MIT license (so I understand).
Should I first start with an open source version of the animated icons? Is it ethical to ask for money? Is there another option or should I just create all the icons by hand?
I don't think it's unethical, since there's enough added value. You will create a new product that serves a purpose which the static version does not.
It's the same as using Unsplash free photos in your client website, you're not just selling the photos, you're selling a whole extra value.
That’s a really good point. Thank you for sharing!