Theresa opened this issue on Feb 03, 2001 ยท 10 posts
casamerica posted Sun, 04 February 2001 at 5:05 AM
Theresa, unless the Readme states specifically that the texture or mesh can be used for commercial renderings and images, then the ban on "commercial use" includes such use in renderings and images. And, with all due respect to Anton, whom I have VERY high regard for, never, ever act based on what is "... generally agreed." It has no basis, protection or strength in law. The ban on commercial use of a texture or mesh includes ANY public posting of that image or rendering. That is based on legal advice from my own attorney whose firm has represented me in business and contract law for nearly a decade. That means that, most likely, 90% of the images in the online galleries here are violating someone's copyright. In the past, I have tried to speak on the need to be more knowledgeable about copyright ownership and protection so that none of us inadvertently abuse the creation of another or inadvertently end up in a legal quandry. However, I have been told on more than one occassion by more than one fellow member that my discussion of copyright was "off-topic", "unneeded" or "unwanted." So I will not clutter the forum with deeper discussion. However, suffice it to say that I was somewhat taken aback when my attorney informed me that the "commercial use ban" legally included ANY public postings of the images or renderings. There were other "... generally agreed upon ... " principles many work under that I was told were equally legally incorrect, unsound and, most importantly, indefensible. But, like I said, I do not wish to clutter the forum. My advice to you, therefore, is the advice my legal representatives have given me -- if the file does not openly, specifically and unequivocably state that it can be used in commercial images, delete it. I realize that it means that you will spend a great deal of time downloading files only to delete them seconds afterward, but, you will rest easier and you will not accidentally abuse the rights of a fellow artist. Take care and Godspeed.