Hard Light Productions Forums
Off-Topic Discussion => General Discussion => Topic started by: Lepanto on June 11, 2015, 03:44:43 pm
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I'm a freelance copywriter, struggling to find clients. I'm already pursuing other means of marketing, but recently, I had a really stupid idea: let's set up an FS mission in FRED, then make a self-promotional video out of it!
I want this hypothetical video to show off my unique selling proposition, and to position me to my hypothetical clients as Pleasantly Quirky and Creative.
Only point I'm worried about is whether using the SCP for such a purpose would violate some kind of copyright.
So, is this idea vaguely logical?
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Noncommercial clauses like those in the SCP licence are a massive legal question mark. Arguably you're not safe using it for this, or indeed for any purpose at all. You are however very unlikely to get sued by doing so.
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I cant find a copy of the Source Code licence so working off vague memory here.
Certainly direct profit was the intention of the target of the Source Code Licence
In the case of Monetizing a YouTube playthrough I am not sure how the Source Code non profit clause affects that as the profit is from gameplay footage rather from distribution of the engine.
In this case we are going one step beyond that. As an advertisement the profit comes not from the video but from orders placed as a result of the video and I am not sure at all how that is affected by the wording, let alone the spirit of the Not for profit clause.
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I highly doubt that the SCP license would apply to something you recorded on video based on a FREDded mission based on the code. That's two levels removed from the source code itself.
The Volition license was intended to prevent another game studio from just repackaging the source code as its own game engine and selling it.
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Cool, thanks. If nobody has any further objections, I think I'll go ahead. If Interplay wants it down, it'll go down, but there's little chance they'll care anyway.
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Okay, look, headdie, Goober: you're not lawyers (neither am I, to be fair -- you'll need to find an actual one if you want a trustworthy opinion). Yes, what you say makes sense and most people would probably agree with you that this can reasonably be called 'non-commercial'. But that doesn't mean Lepanto's actually safe using it. Look up the controversy surrounding the Creative Commons noncommercial licences -- there are serious concerns that they could be used to stamp down on activities just like this. Sure, you're unlikely to actually get noticed, let alone face any serious consequences; it's the same as all the copyrighted music that campaigns use illegally. But there's no use lying to yourself that you're protected by the law.
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That's why I said "I highly doubt" and not "there is absolutely no chance at all". I know better than to underestimate the creativity or the insidiousness of lawyers. But I can tell you that what Lepanto is concerned about falls outside the intended scope of the SCP license.
He should be no more worried about this scenario than about a scenario that is identical except that FSO is swapped for retail FS2.
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As Goober says in the land of reason we see no obstacle, in the land of the commercial court room, **** knows what could happen.
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Hell, not even a lawyer can tell you that unless it actually happens. Legalities can and do change in the courtroom. All it takes is a lawyer with an asinine argument and a judge willing to accept it.
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Death is certain. Dehumanize yourself and face to Axem
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Hell, not even a lawyer can tell you that unless it actually happens. Legalities can and do change in the courtroom. All it takes is a lawyer with an asinine argument and a judge willing to accept it.
It also depends on where he does it. I recently attended a lecture on copyright and it was startling on how much of American copyright law doesn't apply in Poland (specifically, "fair use" is ridiculously curtailed). For example, assume an American uploaded some copyrighted stuff (say, a video) to internet for educational purposes (thus under fair use clause). Under Polish law, there's a chance downloading it would be considered piracy, because uploading it was not considered legal under Polish law (despite both the uploader and copyright holder being American, making it perfectly legal on their side as per "fair use"). It could be argued that you downloaded from a "legal source", but you'd need a decent lawyer to effectively back that claim up.
Legality in such cases could vary widely from country to country, and it can get muddled really quickly, especially if there are multiple law systems involved.
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I'd drop the video the moment I got a C&D.
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How would a video using some weird 3D editor with spaceships help you find clients?
Just bein real bud, I don't mean no offense.
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How would a video using some weird 3D editor with spaceships help you find clients?
Just bein real bud, I don't mean no offense.
I was wondering the same thing...