Question about using "pirated" asset.

[ken ko]

Hello,
I am not sure if this is proper place to ask this question or this post should be in the art asset discussion/discord?. If someone were to use the Asset release from sharecg or some other place and create either render picture or animation for commercial use like in video games. Would there be any ramification of using pirated asset release to create/render picture or animation in commercial use?
Would I need to get the interactive license to the picture or render?
I took a look at the Eula on daz3d and it is pretty confusion. But, based on the reading the Eula, I figure any picture or animation render would be consider mine to use whether it is for a hobby or commercial use. But I am unsure if I would need the interactive license.

 

[brynhildr]

Hello,
I am not sure if this is proper place to ask this question or this post should be in the art asset discussion/discord?. If someone were to use the Asset release from sharecg or some other place and create either render picture or animation for commercial use like in video games. Would there be any ramification of using pirated asset release to create/render picture or animation in commercial use?
Would I need to get the interactive license to the picture or render?
I took a look at the Eula on daz3d and it is pretty confusion. But, based on the reading the Eula, I figure any picture or animation render would be consider mine to use whether it is for a hobby or commercial use. But I am unsure if I would need the interactive license.

I don't know that much so.. in the end I'm replying only about what I think is right for this question, but honestly speaking shoudn't be any problem in using things that you find online. In the end if something gets shared on the internet, that thing become pretty much of "public domain" so..
Of course, however, like the devs of Haramase Simulator do, just don't start asking for money/create a patreon for your game if you don't want to have problems later. And about the Daz3D... I believe that once you buy what you want, automatically you're free to do whatever you want to do. In the end games here that use Daz3d models have patreons. So I believe that buying in a legitimate way will not give you any problem of any sort!

But like I said, if you plan on taking something from sharecg (now that I've took a "ride" on the site), within some works there's a line that you need to watch "Usage Rights: Non-commercial use only". So the one's that maybe says "Unrestricted Use" and "Commercial Renders Ok, contents not for redistribution" maybe... can be used without a problem? Even making money with it?
I'm sorry if my reply can be interpreted as "vague" in a certain sense.. :FeelsBadMan:

 

[DarthSeduction]

I might be thinking of the wrong thing, but if not, then the "interactive license" is specifically for use with interactive games. By that, what I understood from a half read conversation was that if your game has you moving around as a character, and the other characters moving in their environments, then you need the license. Only game I can think of like this is Vikings Daughter.

However, priated assets are enough to get you shut down on their own. The thing is they aren't likely to check. However I would suggest that you spend some of your earnings purchasing the assets you used so that if any ever does come knocking you'll be fine.

 

[ken ko]

I kinda of figure out that pirated assets are enough to get the game or comic or whatever shut down, but i wonder, how would they know you are using pirated asset? Im guessing, they can somehow how look in the DIM or look at you account and find the issue there.

 

[DarthSeduction]

I kinda of figure out that pirated assets are enough to get the game or comic or whatever shut down, but i wonder, how would they know you are using pirated asset? Im guessing, they can somehow how look in the DIM or look at you account and find the issue there.

They contact you requesting proof of purchase forcing you to respond with your account details

 

[DSSAlex]

Interactive License is for if you're directly using the model data in the game (ie if you have some kind of conversion that sends them to Unity or something). Renders are okay with the caveat that if you're using actually pirated content you could be sued by the copyright holder. The reason you're not seeing tons of games going down over this is probably more down to the paltry amounts of money involved for most games. If Daz thinks they're out on enough money that could very easily change. And if Daz went to Patreon demanding contact details for an account they would definitely hand them over.

Places like ShareCG and Renderocity have different licensing terms for the content they have available. ShareCG definitely has a function to sort through a search based on different licenses. The watch word for those would be commercial use.

 

[anne O'nymous]

The reason you're not seeing tons of games going down over this is probably more down to the paltry amounts of money involved for most games. If Daz thinks they're out on enough money that could very easily change. And if Daz went to Patreon demanding contact details for an account they would definitely hand them over.

It's a little more complicated than that since Daz would end only with the contact details related to the main creator of the game, which will lead them nowhere most of the time. The CG are rarely done by the creator itself, which is perfectly legal unless the model's license is "none commercial use only". So, the fact that Daz doesn't know the creator mean nothing at all.
In the same time, if you don't want to give them by yourself, Daz have only one legal way to obtain the contact details of the person doing the CG, filling a law action and letting the justice ask them to you. It can work if the creator is an US resident, not if he isn't. Obviously, Daz can perform an international law action, but it will cost a lot and need a lot of time... this just to know if, perhaps, the assets are illegally used.
They can also try to force you otherwise, asking Patreon to close your account by example. But like they have no proof that you've performed something illegal, it can backfire really hard, both for Patreon if they comply, and obviously for Daz. It worth it only if you make tons of money and they are 100% sure that you use illegal assets. Otherwise, it's better for them to do nothing ; after all, you make some ads for their products and everybody assume that you've bought the asset and will bought them else.

This said, there's another problem here. If Daz want to contact you, they need to use the public information you provided and nothing else. They have no legal right to ask your personal contact details to Patreon, which have no legal right to give them. Even in the USA I'm pretty sure that it can be done only in case of a law action.

 

[DSSAlex]

I really just wanted to disabuse him of the notion that it's impossible to be sued for copyright infringement over this. In a practical sense it would be super unlikely but it could happen. It would be pretty damn hard to serve a lawsuit to a pseudononymous email address, but if there were some specific reason (either someone they wanted to make an example out of or there was a mountain of money in play) it could happen.