Topic: Could Ship Models Be Stolen?

[Don Karnage]

*******************This Question was asked by my Sister*************************



In the Sims Community many creators find their works put on group and sites(paying or not) without their permission. I was wondering if it's possible to happen within the Star Trek Community, although I haven't seen or heard about it.

[Starforce2]

I don't think I've ever seen them sold. But I've seen or heard of people trying to pass off p81 ships as their own plenty of times.

[Don Karnage]

Do paying groups or sites even exists for Star Trek as they do for The Sims?

[Starforce2]

paying sites?

[Don Karnage]

the are site where you have to pay if you want to download stuff from it in the Sims, is there such a place in the startrek comunity?

[Tus-XC]

not that i know of.  if u were to make a pay site you would probably risk a lawsuit

[Sirgod]

If something like this happened, I think the Whole Modeling community would Cause so much trouble for whomever did such a thing, that there site would go down pretty fast.

Heh, It would make all of our old arguements here with each other, look like a preschool kid wanting a lollypop. Everything would be forgotten, and The unification against such a site would Glorious.

Just my Opinion though guys.

Stephen

[Chris Johnson]

I remember all the fuss about when P81 was selling his NX-01 model through E-bay... There was a big big fight about that in the Taldren forums back then, three years ago.  I forgot the details of it, even on whose side I chose.  But I did remember his choice of selling it didn't go without incident.

[Starforce2]

well, see thats the thing. U can sell the models but you can sell the mods. IE if they are max or 3ds format they're fine to sell, but if they've already been cccconverted to SFC, BC, or armada then thye can't be sold, due to the TOS's for the games.

[Pestalence_XC]

EULA for SFC prevents any game components created by fans to be sold.. period... as such if the model is in *.mod format, which is specific for SFC only, then the model, if available by the creator for download, regardless of location, must distribute the model freely to anyone who wishes to download it without cost.

Now, as for editing another's creation... there is nothing that covers a model from being edited. Now if a community member goes through Paramount and gets their model licensed under the Trek license, then the model can not be altered without expressed written consent of Paramount Studios AND the model creator, plus the creator can then sell the model, so long as arrangements with Paramount and the game developer aka Taldren mave been made for compensation of licensed game material sold... without the model being licensed, then the model is a fan creation free for use in what ever way the person in possession of it deems fit.. however as a manner of common courtesy, the original creator of the model should be credited for the work that they did on the model.. IE no one likes their work plagiarized.

Now as for the Simms game, there is nothing that anyone can legally do if a person decides to get a model and redistribute it for free as fan created models are not copywritten nor are they licensed by the publisher or game creator.. basically the same rules apply for the Simms and SFC.. If someone is selling their models for the Simms, then I would suggest contacting the publisher and the game developer to see if that person is licensed and under legal contract for royalties to publisher and developer for selling material created for a copywritten game...

IE selling of models is pretty much illegal unless the person has a legal arrangement with the developer and the publisher because the source for the development, namely the game, is copywritten material.

[Johanobesus]

Now as for the Simms game, there is nothing that anyone can legally do if a person decides to get a model and redistribute it for free as fan created models are not copywritten nor are they licensed by the publisher or game creator.. basically the same rules apply for the Simms and SFC.. If someone is selling their models for the Simms, then I would suggest contacting the publisher and the game developer to see if that person is licensed and under legal contract for royalties to publisher and developer for selling material created for a copywritten game...

IE selling of models is pretty much illegal unless the person has a legal arrangement with the developer and the publisher because the source for the development, namely the game, is copywritten material.

There are lots of membership sites for the Sims, where you can only download custom content if you're a paid member, or if you make a "donation."  So, while you are in effect  purchasing the mods, technically you're paying for the privilege of downloading from the site, not the individual files, so they might be skirting around the law.  I know at least one pay site has a link on the official Sims site, so EA is aware of the practice.  But then that site is such a mess, they might not really be aware of much of anything.

[Red_Green]

I found this description of copyright law on the web  
 
 Copyright Basics*   
 
 


   
What is a copyright?
 A copyright is the legal protection given in the United States to original works of authorship, including books, paintings, photos, music, video, software, and so forth. Copyright protection attaches to a work the moment it is fixed in tangible form (on paper, on video, and so forth) and prevents others from exploiting the work without permission.


Copyright is a bundle of rights
 A copyright actually is a bundle of rights that includes the exclusive right to distribute, sell, duplicate, publicly perform, and create derivative works from the work. The length of copyright protection for older works is often difficult to determine, but for newer works these exclusive rights last at least 70 years, depending upon whether the author is a person or a company. The fact that a work is old doesn't necessarily mean that the copyright on it has expired. Until the end of the term of protection, a copyright owner has the right to sell, transfer, assign, or license one or all of his exclusive rights to someone else.


Selling versus giving away an item
 Copyright protection includes the exclusive right to distribute or sell the copyright work. This usually means that giving away a copy of a copyrighted work (for example a copy of a videocassette) is not permitted. Thus, selling a pencil for $5.00, and including for "free" an unauthorized videocassette copy would probably be an infringement.


Copyright registrations and markings
 In the United States, it is no longer necessary to register a copyright to enjoy copyright protection, although you may have to register your copyright if you want to file a legal action concerning your copyright. It is also no longer necessary to place a © on the copyrighted work, but it is a good idea to do so. The absence of a © doesn't mean its okay to copy the work without permission.



The way I see it, if someone makes a ship not related to an already existing show or movie (but a new race) They own the copyright as soon as its created, weather it be created as a wriiten story, a 3D model or just a drawing. Convertimg a newly created races ship to mod format wouldn't give any rights to Taldren for that design as long as its unrealated to Trek or previous work. So the new race couldn't use nacels, because nacels is trek related. Thus if someone creates a Hritonicalix race and releases a Hritoniclax ship powered by Rutosen Enhanced Cruise Thrusters  RECTS  I don't believe anyone could modify that ship in any with out the creators permission.

Though the general practice is, most don't mind if you alter as long as credit is given that its a mod of the original.
btw I now own the copyrights to  the Hritoniclax  and Rutosen RECTS. 
 

Always remember that half the world is full of dung and the other half is beautiful. Do you want to spend the rest of your life fixing whats wrong with the world, or would you rather just ignore it and enjoy the beauty.  Because in order to fix anything you have to work with it and who wants to work with dung.

Remember to keep your stick on the ice!


I am a projection of yourself. I am an individual that is a different person to everyone I meet. Because eveyone who meets me views me with different moral backgrounds, beliefs and experiences. I am a walking contradiction, partly truth and partly fiction