bben46 Posted January 18, 2012 Share Posted January 18, 2012 The copyright owner of the Witcher, CD Projekt Red, has graciously allowed use of all of their original assets in mods for any other games. With the only conditions that they be credited as the creator. And they cannot be used for commercial purposes. (Can't ask for money for a mod that uses them) To my knowledge, the only other came company that has done this is the maker of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. If you do use any assets from these, Please be sure to thank them as well as credit them. The best thanks will be to actually buy their games. :thumbsup: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SLuckyD Posted January 18, 2012 Share Posted January 18, 2012 I agree with throttlekitty, in the respect that altering someone else's work a little does NOT make it original... it's a derivative work and needs to be permitted by the original rights-holder. I disagree with Ghogiel, in that one may EASILY convince oneself of the fulfillment of the four criteria allowing 'fair use' ...but the original creators and ultimately the COURTS are the ones who need to be convinced (and it isn't cheap, even if you win!). If you wanted to make a Darth Vader mod - it certainly would NOT pass (unless you got a VERY sympathetic set of circumstances). Fair use is generally applied to educational purposes and commentary; neither of which modding falls under (unless the mod is ONLY used for some sort of in-house training program, or during a 'mod review' though Darth wouldn't qualify for the latter, heheh). The owners of the original content may not want it used in the context you place it in - thus causing 'potential loss of' whatever (value, profits, etc)... 'fair use' is NOT intended to protect 'enthusiasts' who distribute content at will. This also applies only in the United States, as other countries have their OWN regulations. There is precedent to back up BOTH my opinions here (original works, fair usage)... you'd have to research it yourself, shouldn't take long though as I recall. You're also going to start seeing a LOT more prosecution from movies and recording artists; which upcoming legislation would facilitate even more (should it be passed). YouTube is going to be a HUGE target, as ALL those videos of people singing copyrighted songs, showing clips from movies, and such stuff will be slowly removed and their uploaders banned. Not for nothin, but because so many others 'get away with it,' or it's 'been up forever,' or because the rights-holder simply hasn't noticed it (yet) doesn't excuse or make it correct. In my opinion, it's best to just make your own damned content from scratch... you NEVER have to worry about it then! You may also use ANYTHING you want for PRIVATE use... you just can't give it to anyone else, even if it's for FREE. http://www.copyright.gov/title17/http://www.copyright.gov/fls/fl102.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghogiel Posted January 18, 2012 Share Posted January 18, 2012 (edited) True: Even if you think it's fair use doesn't stop you getting sued. the only thing you can do to prevent that, is get permission from Lucas Arts, I have done exactly that in the past and actually Vader was off limits back then! He isn't now. Last thing I heard from them regarding some other modders seeking permission, was that force power mods were basically off limits, because that was leading up to when Force Unleashed was going to be released. they change their policy a lot it seems. The owners of the original content may not want it used in the context you place it in - thus causing 'potential loss of' whatever (value, profits, etc).. this is the 4th criteria for fair use, and the one cited as the most important by the supreme court. It's not potential loss though, it is actually devaluing the original work or has effect 'upon the potential market for'. Importantly they actually are required to come up with real figures and prove your mod is the cause of that loss. When Vader in a mod devalues the Star Wars franchise or effects the market for star wars in a negative way, and they can prove it, lol. It also coasts the other criteria as well, non commercial, is published, is insubstantial amount used. Granted all of which would have to be decided in court. Or just make the texture pink and your vader mod would be a parody. :biggrin: Edited January 18, 2012 by Ghogiel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1stlthunter Posted January 18, 2012 Share Posted January 18, 2012 Sopa and/or pipa would make hosting a site like nexus a nightmare, if not impossible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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