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Copyright Question
sfnjones
Posts: 4 New Member
Reading up on the EULA I noticed that creative contributions are subject to copyright.
Before Downloading the game I have a question regarding that. Spore was heavy on this, considering it essentially uploaded your creatures constantly to a cloud. (Which I was unsure if they counted or not) I was just wondering if Sims 4 had something similar to this. I understand deliberately uploading creations is a binding contract, but do sims get passively uploaded to a cloud like in Spore? I'm just curious, in case I make any characters planned for say, a comic I wanted to sell. But since I made the character in Sims 4, they would be subject to copyright infringement.
I guess the question I'm really trying to ask is, if I made a sim while connected to Origin would they become subject to copyright?
Before Downloading the game I have a question regarding that. Spore was heavy on this, considering it essentially uploaded your creatures constantly to a cloud. (Which I was unsure if they counted or not) I was just wondering if Sims 4 had something similar to this. I understand deliberately uploading creations is a binding contract, but do sims get passively uploaded to a cloud like in Spore? I'm just curious, in case I make any characters planned for say, a comic I wanted to sell. But since I made the character in Sims 4, they would be subject to copyright infringement.
I guess the question I'm really trying to ask is, if I made a sim while connected to Origin would they become subject to copyright?
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TINY HOUSE CHALLENGE
The May Family
Modeling Career?
> If you make a sim, any sim, it is the proper of EA as so is the game itself, you only have a license to play it, nothing else
So you're technically saying if I made a sim of character from a tv series that already exists they are granted full copyright of it? This doesn't necessarily answer my question.
And by saying "I only have the license to play it, nothing else" that pretty much rules out any modding that they seem to encourage.
Technically yes.
They don't own me sadly...
I am the property of our lord and savior, Gabe Newell.
*gasp*
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gabe_Newell
EDIT: You'll need to be cleansed with the light of the Gaben. Praise our lord! Hail Gabe!
If you want to write a novel about your sims, EA won't stop you or demand a cut of the royalties. But, if the novel takes off and becomes popular, EA claims a license to use those characters in the game. They may appear in an expansion, for example, and EA doesn't owe you anything for using them.
I'm not a lawyer, though, and you may wish to consult a lawyer if you have any doubts about how the unlimited license claimed by EA works.
http://simsbytheslice.wordpress.com/
To the OP: Let me know if my questions become too off topic and I'll create a new thread, though I think this is relevant. I've actually been meaning to discuss that for a while, but never got around to it until I saw this thread.
EDIT: nateslice's response answers my question pretty well, but it would be good to have other viewpoints as well just to be perfectly clear on the subject.
EDIT: Also, just out of curiosity, does EA's license to use the characters also apply to parts of the character that weren't made in The Sims?
So he's involved with Steam. Oooh , big deal.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuW44b3uCMtCSaq4gwC8EZg
And don't worry Zerbu. That is the exact reason why I made this thread. The sim to be copyrighted, sure. But the actual character is my main concern.
any characters you make are the property of EA as you used their copy-righted game to make them
TINY HOUSE CHALLENGE
The May Family
Modeling Career?
I think if you keep the Sim in your own personal Gallery/Tray and don't upload it to the global Gallery, it won't automatically upload; I had several Sims I created just as practice with the CAS demo and once we got the game, and none of them showed up under my Origin ID in the Community section. Same with some of my houses I did as practice or the ones I downloaded and modified (there was a 3BR 1BA starter where I added a second small bathroom on the 2nd floor).
Fun must be always -- Tomas Hertl (San Jose Sharks hockey player)
With this think, I'd say same than said long ago
Then Microsoft could claim copyright over all documents and book writing with Word
or Adobe could claim copyright over all artwork made with Photoshop
Thanks, that clears things up! Great to have a lawyer's viewpoint!
Also, @catmando830 - the version of the character outside The Sims would be based on the character's base concept, not the Sim version which uses EA's assets and art style.
EA actually has a licensed right to use the Harry Potter stuff - as they made the games associated with the movies. So that may be confusing to some people - same as they have licenses for Star Wars, Star Trek, and other entities and why we might see items like the Star Wars costumes in our game - but yeah technically anything we make using the game is actually EA property.
And yes to the answer of the question about the cloud - the gallery is stored on a cloud type thing belonging to EA/Origin. EA could at any time take and use anything we place in the gallery without giving us any notice or credit as it is all EA property.
"Games Are Not The Place To Tell Stories, Games Are Meant To Let People Tell Their Own Stories"...Will Wright.
In dreams - I LIVE!
In REALITY, I simply exist.....
Well the sims is an EA game - not software licenced for creative design - but it is a game that allows creative use - but all creation with it remains in the ownership of EA. If it was creative software - that would be a different story - instead of a game that allows one to create in the playing of the game. Big difference there.
I own software created specifically for writing books and other software made specifically for illustrations - and any materials I make using this software is fully 100 percent my creative copyright - not the companies that make the software. That is totally different than a game that allows creativity. Software that allows you to create anything but has no creations in the software - would be your creative property - but in sims you are using things in the software to create what ever and without the Sims game you could not create these things otherwise. Even if it is CC you create - you still use the game itself - like meshes and programming to create. The game is not a true tool in otherwords like true creative software is.
Like if you go buy the software EA uses to make the Sims games - Maya and many of Maya's plug ins - what you created with that software is your creation and not owned by EA or Maya.
"Games Are Not The Place To Tell Stories, Games Are Meant To Let People Tell Their Own Stories"...Will Wright.
In dreams - I LIVE!
In REALITY, I simply exist.....
This is not about using The Sims to create a character and then ripping that character out of the game though. What we're talking about here is creating a character completely from scratch, using only your imagination, and then creating a Sim version of the character. The question is, would EA own the original design, or just the Sim version? Assuming Edwardianed's answer is accurate, the answer would be no, EA would only own the Sim version.
in fact the OP was talking just about it
If you use game software to generate Sims, of course they "belong" to EA. If you Simmify a celebrity or someone else's artistic work as in Harry Potter, well, the Sim version belongs to EA but the original work one "Simmifies" belongs to whomever that is or belonged to.
I'm not sure anyone recalls but in a TS 1 expansion pack, if you threw a party, a Simmified Drew Carey usually made a cameo. But it's fairly plain to whom and what extent the rights in that situation belonged to.
So, my takeaway is, make all the Sims you like, do with them what you please, but don't use things you made with EA software to illustrate your next best-selling book.
Draw your own people, in short.