ehsumrell1
Posts: 2529
Joined: 8/17/2010 From: The Briar Patch Nebula Status: offline
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quote:
ORIGINAL: Unforeseen This doesn't violate copyright does it? You are technically 'redistributing' copy protected material. Don't want anyone getting in legal trouble here. To help 'quash' all this (maybe once and for all even) here is an article, although lengthy, that basically breaks down the legalities of FAN-BASED PRODUCTIONS. Read the article here: http://spreadablemedia.org/essays/kosnik/#.U53hT7FHSHg This excerpt basically says it all: "fans who produce their own versions of mass-media texts—fan films and videos, fan fiction, fan art and icons, music remixes and mash-ups, and game mods, for example—take comfort and refuge in one rule of thumb: as long as they do not sell their works, they will be safe from legal persecution. Conventional wisdom holds that companies and individuals that own the copyrights to mass-media texts will not sue fan producers, as long as the fans do not make money from their works (for instance, Scalzi 2007 and Taylor 2007)." “Free” fan labor (fan works distributed for no payment) means “free” fan labor (fans may revise, rework, remake, and otherwise remix mass-culture texts without dreading legal action or other interference from copyright holders)." So if you're not making money off it, you're safe. Elliot and Matrix Games cannot use say, Star Wars character portraits (as was originally done unintentionally, but since removed from the modding guide). They have to either use their own original artwork/music, or receive written permission or pay royalties to an original artist. This is because they 'sell' and 'make profit' on the game. Pretty clear! @Unforeseen & @BlackAlpha In our Star Trek mods, to avoid problems, our mods and descriptions contain both credit to any/all participants and the following statement or something similar: Copyright Notice and Disclaimer This is a fan-made game modification. Star Trek is owned by CBS studios Inc. and Paramount Pictures. I do not make any profit from this material nor do I accept donations. I cannot accept responsibility for any damage that may be caused by downloading these files. All files are virus checked. Happy Trekking Hope this settles the debate on music/artwork/etcetera in Fan-made mods
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Shields are useless in "The Briar Patch"...
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