Can You Use Canva Elements in Your Amazon KDP Book?

A Guide to Copyright and Publishing Rights On Amazon KDP

Photo by Swello on Unsplash

If you’re creating children’s books using Canva and publishing them on Amazon KDP, you’ve likely found the checkbox that says, “I own the copyright and hold necessary publishing rights.” What does this mean, especially when Canva elements are involved? This question has confused many creators, so let’s break it down step by step.

Understanding Canva’s Copyright Terms

When you create a design on Canva, you hold the copyright to the design. However, if you use Canva’s elements — like stock images, icons, or illustrations — you don’t own the copyright to those components. Instead, Canva grants you a license to use them.

Here’s what that means:

• Your Design: The arrangement and composition of elements are yours.
• Individual Elements: These remain under the copyright of their original creators and are subject to third-party rights.

Canva’s terms allow you to use their licensed elements commercially, but things can get tricky when platforms like Amazon KDP require you to check the copyright box.

Let’s dig deeper.

What Canva Says About KDP