Depends on the project. If you are promised a physical product , then it is a sale : http://backersmanual.com/2014/03/19/crowdfunding-terminology-a-legal-minef

Depends on the project. If you are promised a physical product , then it is a sale : http://backersmanual.com/2014/03/19/crowdfunding-terminology-a-legal-minefield/ http://backersmanual.com/2014/03/19/crowdfunding-terminology... I think that link provide an accurate description of what some transactions on KS are legally. The problem is that KS TOS are vague on purpose, entertaining the confusion as backers have no legal status (hence the endless debate about what "backing" is), which is illegal in a lot of European countries. One day however even US justice will have to decide what is the legal status of backers once and for all.