Ren'Py A stupid question about copyright

[kedor]

I am creating a (little) game on ren'py and I'm using screens and/or videos recorded inside a game. I'm also using mods which alter most of the things you see... But it's still mostly other people content.

So I was wondering do I still risk copyright infringements even if I'm planning on doing this for free? Like... I'll not sell it... Just share it, on this site probably (once it is done). Thanks and sorry for the dumb question.

 

[Sphere42]

First of all copyright is an automatic personal right of the author, there is no need to apply for protection like there is for trademarks. Usually this right also covers non-commercial distribution (e.g. copying a DVD and handing the copies to your friends) and if the lifted content is recognisable enough for the rights holders to care chances are the burden will be on you to prove legal exceptions e.g. transformative or educational use. The specifics will also vary by country so the hosting site could be sued under laws you as a person are not bound by.

However copyright covers distribution not private personal use for the most part and once released it will be easy for other people to re-upload your work without being bound by any court orders against you. And if anything happens that is the most likely case: since you aren't pirating the IP wholesale it will be hard to prove undue gains or financial damage, so they will simply send a cease&desist to force you to take down your game.

As for whether that would hold up in court, I am not a lawyer and you would need to consult one versed in your country's specific laws. Something like screenshots or clips of heavily modded Minecraft or Skyrim probably should be safe, for a start loads of people livestream themselves playing the entire game without getting into trouble. Doesn't mean Nintendo wouldn't try to sue you anyway, chances are they can afford more legal fees than you.

 

[kedor]

First of all copyright is an automatic personal right of the author, there is no need to apply for protection like there is for trademarks. Usually this right also covers non-commercial distribution (e.g. copying a DVD and handing the copies to your friends) and if the lifted content is recognisable enough for the rights holders to care chances are the burden will be on you to prove legal exceptions e.g. transformative or educational use. The specifics will also vary by country so the hosting site could be sued under laws you as a person are not bound by.

However copyright covers distribution not private personal use for the most part and once released it will be easy for other people to re-upload your work without being bound by any court orders against you. And if anything happens that is the most likely case: since you aren't pirating the IP wholesale it will be hard to prove undue gains or financial damage, so they will simply send a cease&desist to force you to take down your game.

As for whether that would hold up in court, I am not a lawyer and you would need to consult one versed in your country's specific laws. Something like screenshots or clips of heavily modded Minecraft or Skyrim probably should be safe, for a start loads of people livestream themselves playing the entire game without getting into trouble. Doesn't mean Nintendo wouldn't try to sue you anyway, chances are they can afford more legal fees than you.

Thanks for the explanation. It looks like it is a topic where it's hard to be sure on what'll happen once you publish something like that... I wonder if other people (making hentai/porn games on notorious brands) deal with it...


One last thing I was wondering is that maybe... Being this a simple ren'py game I could just upload the script as, you know, "ren'py game" and then leave the image folder empty... this will produce text and code when executing but no image are actually displayed... Unless you casually find the intended images in another file anonimously uploaded on some sharing website and the paste them inside the folder...

 

[Sphere42]

One last thing I was wondering is that maybe... Being this a simple ren'py game I could just upload the script as, you know, "ren'py game" and then leave the image folder empty... this will produce text and code when executing but no image are actually displayed... Unless you casually find the intended images in another file anonimously uploaded on some sharing website and the paste them inside the folder...

If the text includes character names such as "Ash Ketchum" that won't help, copyright extends to written works too. But chances are no one will care enough to try and stop you in the first place. If things were to go so wrong that the asset split mattered you would need a lot more precautions because that would mean someone is targeting you personally as a creator not just the porn project.

 

[kedor]

If the text includes character names such as "Ash Ketchum" that won't help, copyright extends to written works too. But chances are no one will care enough to try and stop you in the first place. If things were to go so wrong that the asset split mattered you would need a lot more precautions because that would mean someone is targeting you personally as a creator not just the porn project.

As matter of fact... The text is quite generic and doesn't have "specific" words or names... But that's surely something to consider... I think I should just keep it for myself at this point...

Unless I find a way to create a so heavily modded character that it doesn't even look like something from that game (which is final fantasy xiv for instance)...

Anyway, for now, thanks for all the informations!

 

[Sphere42]

As matter of fact... The text is quite generic and doesn't have "specific" words or names... But that's surely something to consider... I think I should just keep it for myself at this point...

Unless I find a way to create a so heavily modded character that it doesn't even look like something from that game (which is final fantasy xiv for instance)...

Honestly unless you live in a prude shithole you should be safe to publish it anyway. Most likely nothing will happen, because taking actions against you only brings attention to your project and without a paywall you bet someone else will save a copy. If anything does happen you'll most likely get a polite but strongly worded letter from a(n army of) lawyer(s) telling you to stop distributing it in any way. That'll basically be the end if you comply.

But you should definitely research the company in question if you cannot afford to go to court, mainly checking if they spam out legal threats like Nintendo does.

 

[kedor]

Honestly unless you live in a prude shithole you should be safe to publish it anyway. Most likely nothing will happen, because taking actions against you only brings attention to your project and without a paywall you bet someone else will save a copy. If anything does happen you'll most likely get a polite but strongly worded letter from a(n army of) lawyer(s) telling you to stop distributing it in any way. That'll basically be the end if you comply.

But you should definitely research the company in question if you cannot afford to go to court, mainly checking if they spam out legal threats like Nintendo does.

Well I already "changed the main character"... Meaning I downloaded a shit ton of mods to change her hair, body model, face marks, tail shape, ears shale, outfit and weapon ... All with user made models ... All of which are free to use unless you want to resell them ...

Anyway after a quick research it looks like square enix isn't very much after people creating mods (hentain or not)... Believe it or not but ffxiv despite being an online mmorpg has as much mods as skyrim of literally any kind... Even poses and animations...

 

[TessaXYZ]

Well I already "changed the main character"... Meaning I downloaded a shit ton of mods to change her hair, body model, face marks, tail shape, ears shale, outfit and weapon ... All with user made models ... All of which are free to use unless you want to resell them ...

Anyway after a quick research it looks like square enix isn't very much after people creating mods (hentain or not)... Believe it or not but ffxiv despite being an online mmorpg has as much mods as skyrim of literally any kind... Even poses and animations...

Right, but FFXIV has a strong "don't talk about it or advertise that you use mods in any way" stance. They aren't okay with it, they just know they can't stop it from happening. But if you're talking about making a renpy game using FFXIV for the images, that's a copyright infringement whether you decide to sell it or not.

 

[Count Morado]

People should forget the word "Sell" and replace it with "Distribute" or "Share." Compensation doesn't matter in terms of whether copyright infringement occurs. The simple fact that you no longer are experiencing it for your own personal use is infringement.

Compensation is a factor in how much an IP holder can sue for copyright infringement for compensatory and punitive damages in a court case - above and beyond court costs and attorney fees.

 

[kedor]

People should forget the word "Sell" and replace it with "Distribute" or "Share." Compensation doesn't matter in terms of whether copyright infringement occurs. The simple fact that you no longer are experiencing it for your own personal use is infringement.

Compensation is a factor in how much an IP holder can sue for copyright infringement for compensatory and punitive damages in a court case - above and beyond court costs and attorney fees.

I see, that makes sense. So, should I avoid "distributing" it even if the character showed are very different (but still recognizable) from what you can find in the game?

 

[anne O'nymous]

However copyright covers distribution not private personal use for the most part and once released it will be easy for other people to re-upload your work without being bound by any court orders against you. And if anything happens that is the most likely case: since you aren't pirating the IP wholesale it will be hard to prove undue gains or financial damage, so they will simply send a cease&desist to force you to take down your game.

In regard of most countries Law, there's no need for undue gains or financial damage, the public use of IP is by itself an infringement. Anyway there's also the image damage, that would be way more easy to demonstrate due to the adult nature of the game.
The rights owner(s) will mostly limit to a cease and desist notice because prosecution is a long process that would cost a lot, especially if it's an international one, not because they are unsure to win the case.

As for whether that would hold up in court, I am not a lawyer and you would need to consult one versed in your country's specific laws.

Lawyer that wouldn't help him much when it come to content available online. The rights owner(s) can perfectly sue him in their country ; therefore accordingly to their own country Law.

 

[desmosome]

I see, that makes sense. So, should I avoid "distributing" it even if the character showed are very different (but still recognizable) from what you can find in the game?

It looks like you're paranoid. That's good enough reason to not do this. In all likelihood, nothing will happen, but if you are asking this question in the first place, the only logical answer to give you is that it will almost certainly have legal basis for them to sue over and the burden of proof for fair use will be on you. It's just that most companies don't bother with such insignificant cases.