Giving credit and fair use. Need to avoid a legal headache.
gadgytman2011
Posts: 46
So I'm creating an animated series using Poser 10 comic shader and I'm using a lot of Daz3D content. My understanding of the fair use laws is that I have to give credit. So I assume that I would have to mention Daz3D for my use of V4, M4, A4, H4 G4 and F4 as well as Stonemason, Maclean, ect. in the closing credits?
I just want to make sure I'm doing this right before I have any legal issues after the fact.
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Comments
Purchased content from the store as renders?
Nope..no need to do anything. You are legally covered and granted a usage license for rendered content (your renders) already. Fair Use does not come into it at all.
only possibly for content purchased or obtained outside the DAZ store.
I like giving credit/links to free things I use (some request that be done in the first place, some don't.).
Might be too late for this project. But I suggest not bothering with freebies or any content that requires any sort of credit when used. If it has any restrictions with the license terms, I would avoid it.
A year later when you decide to use something you may not want to hunt down where the license agreement to find out if you are allowed to use it in a contest for example.
I make a habit of just avoiding all that up front. Might help you going forward.
My freebies are 'safe'...use them for any purpose, but if you redistribute them, I have been collecting fleas from camels...I'm up to 999 camels, now.
Lars is right. I had the unfortunate experience of someone wanting an image I'd made for commercial use. I had used a few freebies and even some content sold at other stores. The image had been made a while ago and I couldn't find some licensing for some small props. It meant a loss for me since they didn't use it. Plus it was a pain to find licensing for stuff sold at other stores... And even if licensing is legit most commercial projects aren't going to want to credit a whole bunch of freebie creators on their prints.
No more freebies for me. Even content at other stores can have confusing licenses
Freebies without restrictions are fantastic. There are some people that do that and I appreciate it when I find them myself!
Just because I chose not to try and make money from them, doesn't mean I don't think anyone else can. I've got a couple that can't be (and a couple more in the works), but I'd rather not have the BBC breathing down my neck if I didn't restrict them...but other than 'fan art' my stuff is always usable. I've even put some stuff up CC-0/Public Domain...
I can see offering a mention in rolling or framed credits for an animation, whether it's asked for or not, just because it's courteous to the person who made the asset, but to expect it on a physical print/poster is unrealistic IMO.
I also never understood the logic behind selling something and then having a license that says you can't sell the renders (physical prints or digital). I can fully understand things like game licensing or other mediums where the source materials can be stripped from it, but not for a 2D surface or still image or animation.
I mean, if it's a copy of a copyrighted work like a Batman suit - something uniquely identifiable with a brand name product, then yeah, but elsewise it's like Bic saying you can't make money with a Sharpie.
I won't actually buy or use content that require attribution. I understand why people want it, but sorry, just don't want to have to remember to add a byline in for someone else and publishers will become weird if you do that. It's also not really practical in the commercial world.
So nope. I keep it simple and don't use free stuff or buy stuff which has unsatisfactory licensing or attribution requirements.
One of the things I did was to tweak some of the image files, I hope that's not a problem .. My idea for example as an animated series list "Stone Mason" or Daz for V4, M4, H4,A4, F4 and G4 in the closing credtis under "Origonal 3D artists" Do I list them as "created by" or "Provided by"?
there's no credit required for using my content in illustrations/animation.I got all the credit I needed when you bought it :)
No credit required if you use my Free items in renders.
It's nice when your name is mentioned but I don't think it should be required.
Ok I used a few free things, such as the original grey alien that came with poser 10, but the rest I bought and paid for.
The Grey Alien doesn't count, either...you bought Poser...and that's part of the package. All the included content is. You could go buy him separately...
While you don't need to credit DAZ or it's Artists when using their products in a commercial setting, the one thing I did not see mentioned here which is important is that you take care to avoid implying that the models were made by you!
Not having to give credit is one thing we all love, but if you made some of the stuff and want to credit yourself for it, being careful to avoid implying you modeled it all is important.
Probably obvious, but it bears mentioning just in case. I once had a request to model something similar to what was in a test image made for a customer and had to explain the whole way 3D Models work in a commercial environment. They thought I made it all from scratch and were shocked I was "cheating" by using other people's work. I never claimed it was my modeling, just my renders, but they didn't understand even after pointing out how movies are made by large teams and this is similar.
I've altered him so he's a green alien with human eyes. That's one of the reasons I'm bringing this up. I've altered some of the original textures in photoshop. That's one of the reasons I want to list the original artists during the closing credits. One example is I bought "Le village" My series takes place in San Francisco, so I changed the French to English and made the building textures have pastel colors.
Tell them it's like decoupage - you didn't make the pieces, but the pieces wouldn't be art if you hadn't put them together.
As for providing credit, I've always considered it to be polite to do so, but I sometimes forget to do so. If you've watch RWBY, take a look at the long list of "thanks to..." credits at the end - the people who made the elements they're using in Poser are listed there.