Purchased Content and Copyright
mkett78
Posts: 4
I think I may have been using DAZ under a misapprehension
Looking at the "User Stories" - Independent Films, Book Covers, Freelance Art, etc - before I downloaded DAZ (and lots of content) I was left with the impression that I would be able to use content I have purchased in my projects without violating copyright laws. I did read the EULA, but even things that seem clear and simple in legalese can often be wrong. But after skimming through forum posts, it seems that maybe I was being naive; you cannot use content in any projects that you intend to distribute or publish. Is that true? If so, what specifically can you do with the art/animations you have created with purchased models and other content?
The bottom line for me: I've been working on an animated short, using purchased content. What can I do (legally) with the final product? Anything?
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Comments
No, that is NOT true...for everything. Using it as 'game assets' is not allowed, without an extra license and some 'protective' measures. And one or two other items (specifically made from real people and those are well labeled...there's 2 of them, I think, in the store).
Anything that you render is yours to do with as you please. Animated short that is rendered to produce a 'movie' file...anything you want with it. You can even use the RENDERED content in games...just not the actual meshes.
You can't just slap the texture images on a flat plane, render those and then sell those renders...
What you CANNOT do is redistribute the content itself -or derivatives, or extractable items, or any other style of publication that would render the actual content irrelevant
Example: you CAN make a movie, book cover, etc and publish these as will. You can get paid for these too.
Basically, any RENDER -be it animation, still or even a sprite- is usable commercially. As long as what you're redistributing is an IMAGE (or a series of images like in an animation) and that image has had some of your input, in some form.
You CANNOT make a game and redistribute the meshes and textures within it, at least not without a games license. Also you cannot buy a background set, do basic flat renders and give those away as that would mean a potential downloader would not need to buy the backgrounds. Or create an animation to use within a game engine either and give that away as a game mod. Basically, if the mesh/textures/backgrounds/whatever product are present in the final product and are extractable -even if they are encoded, even by hacking- then that's a no=no
Send an email to copyright@daz3d.com if you need a more direct answer, with specifics of your project, but
Now, am I wrong in saying, with exceptions stated before, as long as you are not trying to sell the renders, you are fine as well. If you wish to sell renders for profit (say making Tee-Shirts with rendered images) you need a commercial license. I don't know if I'm remembering correctly, but aren't there some "Not for Commercial use" items in the store? I might be thinking elsewhere, as I usually see that on freebie products.
Or am I off base with this as well?
Greetings,
As long as it's entirely 2D output, e.g. you're not including the models in your product, then you're fine.
So you could make stills, or MP4 animations, or burn the animation to film or DVD, as long as it's just 2D, it's entirely legal with anything sold on DAZ's store. (Because one of the rules on the store is that everything provides the same licensing terms, modulo game dev.)
If you have to include the models themselves (3D video games/apps, VR headset stuff, VRML, etc.), then you have to get a game dev license.
Edit: The 'Not for Commercial Use' stuff is usually freebies, and so you'll want to avoid them at all costs if you plan to do commercial work. Their licenses vary wildly, from 'whatevs', to 'THOU SHALT NOT!'...
-- Morgan
I think your confusion is over in-game Dev use, 3D print items, and Merchant Resources.
Game development use (this applies ONLY to 3D models, and not 2D models such as sprites and render scenes) is prohibited without a developer's license. 3D print items you are not allowed to distribute under any means, not even as a Christmas gift.
Distribution of the 3D content itself (or any content based off of it) is also prohibited as that is redistribution of copyrighted material (just like uploading songs you ripped from your iPod, music CDs, etc.)
Merchant Resources are only for personal or commercial use-- you're not allowed to distribute derivative works as freebies-- apparently it's illegal to distribute even a single (or like-- 4) pixels from one of the maps, or even a black and white texture made from an additional layer in photoshop, where you traced over the dots to create the same dot pattern and size as the texture-- even if it's just abstract polka-dots that consisted of detailed studded diamonds in the original texture. In addition, Merchant Resource rules typically require commercial distribution of derivative works, only (that means you have to alter the textures to some degree, which is specified by the vendor)
Yeah, pretty much at ShareCG, look at the usage field..some say any, some say personal only, etc..
Also, *some* stuff might not be used for specific things like commercial endorsements or logos, where it is 100% associated with a brand... but you wouldn't want to use a commercial product that could potentially be used by hundreds of people for a logo, would you? But both these are minimal.
Again, if you're in any doubt, contact copyright@daz3d.com
The vast majority of the content in the major stores; DAZ, Renderosity, RDNA, etc. is all usable for commercial purposes. A large quantity of the free content is, too.
Where you get into problems with freebies, is there is a large portion of them that are 'fan art' or obvious 'clone' items.
Thanks for the clarification; I'm relieved to know that I was wrong. It seems like there should be no copyright issues with my intended projects. I think the game design threads out there caused me some confusion.
I appreciate your responses. Thanks!
I am not a lawyer, but even i know this is NOT all true.
There are indeed a few MRs which DO permit freebies to made with them, usually with more restrictions than commercial use but not always. And for pokey dots, give me a break. That's like trying to copyright the period at the end of a sentence. MANY people redistribute a set of black dots on a white page in basically the same location as is required for an eye texture.
What IS illegal is to remove copyright notices ... so make your own dotty pages.
When in doubt, contact the copyright holder. Some are most generous, others not so.