[Video] CIG's new fan kit and terms of use

sum1

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Jun 26, 2015
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TOTALLY LOVE THE (idea of the) FAN KIT!!! I have a 3D printer, using the 3d stuff to make some sick cosplay stuff would be amazing! and printing mini ship of my fleet (all for personal use) and I am fine with not using them to make money, but if I can get some 3d models more then the holoviewer models I could make some really cool stuff without too much work! I have in the past 3d printed a few SC ships and other things, but it just tends to be so much work that I don't end up putting the time in. If CIG whats to make that easier for me, I will happily abide by their wishes about it.
 

Vavrik

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So what's this mean for the Xi'An dildos?
Nothing. Turns out. Xi'an is one of the names of a city in China, and there is prior art on a dildo associated with Xi'an. Fact is CIG might have IP rights problems with a few of their ship names too, if they weren't concerned with IP rights when using the names in the first place. One of the most embarrassing things for a company to do is to try to enforce rights they don't actually have, especially if their enforcement action caused someone harm.
 

Radegast74

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So what's this mean for the Xi'An dildos?
lol, as @Vavrik pointed out, probably nothing, since Xi'an is a name of a Chinese city...but, if I were those people, I would not advertise it as a "Star Citizen Xi'an Dildo..."

I'm not a lawyer, so you can disregard everything I say...but drawing examples from another company (Nintendo), you are free pretty much as fans to do whatever you want, as long as you don't make any money off of what you are doing, or don't threaten their ability to make money. If you do make a little money, you probably won't be targeted as fast (or, maybe not at all), but if you do something that threatens their long-term profits or can make them look bad or bring disrepute to them, you are going to have problems. Recent examples have been Nintendo filing lawsuits against ROM download sites, as well as fan-made games using pictures/assets from their games. But, if you go over the web, you can find plenty of websites that are fan-appreciation sites, and if you go to Etsy you can find a lot of people selling Nintendo clothing articles that certainly aren't officially sanctioned, but seem to be flying under Big N's radar.

My understanding of trademark law is that you have to vigorously defend your TM's, or you can lose them.

Here is another example...the Pokemon Company (not Nintendo) suing a fan that was throwing a party and charging admission, right before a PAX event...definitely NOT flying under the radar, poor guy, looks like it cost him $4k to settle things, which he raised from a GoFundMe:
https://www.geekwire.com/2015/pokemon-sues-fans-to-block-pokemon-party-on-eve-of-pax-game-convention-in-seattle/
https://www.gofundme.com/ng5f2ukk
 

stockish

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Speaking on the subject of things that could cause problems, I saw this idea advertised on Spectrum and can already hear heavy breathing by a CIG lawyer somewhere.

https://robertsspaceindustries.com/spectrum/community/SC/forum/7/thread/radegast-whiskey-2947-homeward-limited-edition-rea

An idea like this will work with CIG approval, but the fact that this person already bought website addresses and contacted 3rd parties to create for a profit what could be a copyrighted material right after this fan kit stuff came out is interesting. It is using a company name from the lore which is stated as against the TOS in the fine print of the fan kit.

I am still planning on 3D printing a few ships for my desk, but how careful I have to tread is so vague that it can be concerning.
 

Kiladyn

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Speaking on the subject of things that could cause problems, I saw this idea advertised on Spectrum and can already hear heavy breathing by a CIG lawyer somewhere.

https://robertsspaceindustries.com/spectrum/community/SC/forum/7/thread/radegast-whiskey-2947-homeward-limited-edition-rea

An idea like this will work with CIG approval, but the fact that this person already bought website addresses and contacted 3rd parties to create for a profit what could be a copyrighted material right after this fan kit stuff came out is interesting. It is using a company name from the lore which is stated as against the TOS in the fine print of the fan kit.

I am still planning on 3D printing a few ships for my desk, but how careful I have to tread is so vague that it can be concerning.
The link seems to be gone already. As for 3D printed models they are really interesting. Could you "get around" the selling profit clause by accepting donations after giving away models?
 

maynard

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[WALL O'TEXT]

I have always understood the Persistent Universe to be a content creation engine before it is a game engine

Star Citizen and Squadron 42 are just two examples of what can be done with it

Chris Roberts evolved from a game designer to a movie producer before starting CIG

he blurs the lines between movies, TV, and games

remember the videos of the motion capture work in what looked like an empty warehouse, with plywood furniture and props?

once you have captured your actors' full range of motion and facial exprssions you can composite them into any setting you can render digitally, as we saw with Mark Hamill's speech to the UEE assembly

the actors can then do their dialogue sitting around a table anywhere, as they do today for animated productions like Toy Story or Shrek

to make a movie or TV show you can now hire digital artists instead of set builders, lighting, and sound techs (I built sets and props in Hollywood back in the day)

use AI-driven NPCs instead of extras

rent a mo-cap studio for a few days instead of entire soundstages for months at a time

this has always been the end game - and why we won't have to pay for subscriptions to play SC

and genius that he is, Chris Roberts got us to fund the development

now he will license use of the engine for a percentage of any production's proceeds

the costs are all sunk, whatever CIG can negotiate for license fees will be pure profit from there out

the barrier to entry for entertainment production will be lowered immensely

instead of huge up-front costs now you will pay a percentage for CIG's IP as the money comes in

the same will hold true for web site owners, YouTubers, and Twitch streamers

if you are profiting from CIG's IP, they will get a cut

all that needs to be hashed out is where the limits of fair use are under U.S. copyight law

I shouldn't have to pay royalties be able to post screenshots or video clips of my farmers' co-op attacking Black Sunder's miners for tearing up our cannabis crop, don't you agree?

[/WALL O'TEXT]
 
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