What if it is *impossible (faik)* to get permission?

[Shaydow]

Title. If I'm using assets from say someone in Korea, had to use google translate just to know what to download etc, and then made a mod that draws upon those assets and have no clue how to get permission, is it safe to release the mod? I read the upload FAQ and it says it REQUIRES I have permission from everyone ( NOT just credit ). This would be an almost impossible task to begin with ( my mod draws upon I would say a total of 10-12 different assets not created by me ), but having someone I have no way of contacting and the asset I'm drawing from NOT available here on nexus ( or workshop for that matter, but I digress ), I have no clue as to what I can or can not do.

 

Thank you for your time.

 

Peace,

Shay

[TheVampireDante]

The rule states it clearly enough I thought...

 

If you cannot gain permission to use something, then you cannot use it in a mod release. You would have to take it out.

 

Either do without whatever those were for, or find a suitable replacement that you can get permission for.

[MarethRavenlocke]

From a legal standpoint, I'm pretty sure that, while you may own a 3d model you made at first, the second you put it into an esp/esm, it becomes property of Bethesda. This whole thing about asking other modders for their permission to use their stuff is really just a courtesy. The Nexus doesn't allow you to upload other modders' stuff without permission, but the Workshop has no such restrictions and the law itself doesn't care since it's owned by Bethesda and it's being put into a Bethesda game.

[jimhsu]

You're on the Nexus community - therefore, Nexus rules apply, independent of what Steam/Workshop/Beth/etc say.

 

Nothing says that there aren't other communities out there, however.

 

A reminder that posting a link to such content on Nexus may also constitute a violation.

Edited February 25, 2012 by Thandal
important qualifier added.

[TheVampireDante]

From a legal standpoint, I'm pretty sure that, while you may own a 3d model you made at first, the second you put it into an esp/esm, it becomes property of Bethesda. This whole thing about asking other modders for their permission to use their stuff is really just a courtesy. The Nexus doesn't allow you to upload other modders' stuff without permission, but the Workshop has no such restrictions and the law itself doesn't care since it's owned by Bethesda and it's being put into a Bethesda game.

 

They own what's in the esp or esm - they still don't have any control over third party content such as models and textures made scratch... those still belong to the original creator. They can make use of the idea, or base something from that content, but they cannot take the content itself. scripts, coding and items created purely from content they provided with the game and it's toolset are theirs to play with however.

 

You make a house mod using vanilla parts and nothing else? It's theirs.

 

You make a house mod and use a completely custom mesh + texture for a sofa or dining table included - they get everything but that sofa, or dining table. You'd have to contact you and ask for that since it is still your property. Or they can make a similar item to take it's place.

[jet4571]

Beth does not own any meshes or textures you create and cannot grant rights to use them, using them in another mod is illegal. What they do own and can be used is what was made in the editor itself. example of my shields. they could use my mod but they would need to replace my textures and meshes with one of there own. From a legal standpoint you can use another persons house/dungeon/spell mod and upload it wherever as long as what was used in creating it is vanilla items found in the game already. Though The Nexus has a simple rule saying only with permission and that is not a legal issue but a moral one.

[Shaydow]

Hello all,

 

jimhsu, I KNOW I'm on nexus, I love nexus, I have no desire to get in trouble here, hence why I asked.

 

Mareth, I assume as much, it is why I made the comment about workshop in the first place.

 

Dante... I know what those ... mean :P I'm trying to avoid trouble is all. Now on to my 2nd question in regards to your response; what if I made my mod REQUIRE the download of the mod that held the asset in question ( it would mean redoing a LOT of my file paths, but I can deal with that), and pointed to a download of it in the mod discription? I've seen this done I before, does it still require permission this way? Seems a little redundant if so. I understand giving credit where it is do, but your already doing that if the asset in question is required to be downloaded from the original author.

 

Thanks again for your time and to those who took the time to respond.

 

Peace,

Shay

[GrindedStone]

If you can recreate the very same thing yourself or for example have edited so heavly it was a significant amount of work performed on it. Then perhaps all you would need would be to have contacted the creator an waited for a reply for a period of time. However "Fair Use" can apply to many things you wouldn't think that it does. Such as only using samples or pieces of a whole object. Though, technically if you can not recreate these items yourself, you shouldn't be using them in the first place. Much less pirating them, which is basicly what you are doing. It boils down to an eithical question that only you can answer.

 

If it were myself in the situation. What I would do would be to first contact the creator. In the mean time I would edit the content as much as possible. After about two weeks or a month without reply I'd say it's safe to use. First I would weigh how important the content is, because if it wasn't the best thing ever created on earth I would probably ditch that poorly created ditch mod hunk of noob junk, an move on to creating my own content as fast as possible. Sure there are exceptions but it's rare to find content which can be improved upon that you also believe in the idea the content presents.

 

It's important to remember the "rules" in question are at heart directed toward upholding EULA and to lower the amount of verbatim/direct plagiarism. In the cases where I find myself in this situation. The content has to be edited heavly in order to use. This is only true if I can prove thru the direct listing of the exact work performed which needless to say must be a substantial amount of work. On my part the credit is given first, then the contact failure, followed by the listing of the work proving it has been heavly edited. If I can't provide this then I quickly poopcan that content.

[galy3]

Yes! You have to get permission and the best, permission for every things.

I got in trouble this week cause a copyright violation, not from an everyday guy, but from a producer. Bethesda own nothing about your mods, they are free of problems and have zero relation about anything, everything about you, never!

If you have an issue, they can help you, ban you, delete your mod and they don't endorse your mods.

 

 

For myself I got nice help from Beth, from Nexus and at the end, I'm free to keep my mod here without copyright problems.

[Rennn]

Bethesda owns everything you put into a mod. Read the EULA. Even if you make a totally custom sofa with new meshes and a new texture, as soon as you put it in an esp Bethesda owns the rights to redistribute it without permission and, for all intents and purposes, owns the asset itself. I'm not hating on Bethesda at all; we all accepted the EULA, and I have no complaint about that. It's a little lame, but they did sell us Skyrim, so in a way it makes sense that they own whatever content is created for Skyrim. I'm just trying to clear this issue up.

 

As for using other people's assets, the Nexus has a courtesy rule in place. Off-site, I don't think anyone will really care, although I suppose the modders who originally created the assets could try without success to file a lawsuit.

Edited February 24, 2012 by Rennn