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TurboSquid is notorious for hosting copyright infringments.
The bottom line is that you can get away with just about anything until some one says "Cease and Desist."
By keeping our stuff free, it falls under "fan art" and it is generally more expensive to litigate than to just leave it alone. Remember that burden of proof falls on the accuser, and that in order to gain a judgment of fincial damages they would would have to show how this site harmed their property. Not to mention they could just pass the buck onto the creators.
If Animotions or TurboSquid for that matter were called to task by a copyright holder, they would most likely respond by pulling the content in question and that would probably reslove the issue.
Plus, attacking us could become a Public Releations nightmare if the press picked it up.
Look at Marvel's ongoing suit against the RPG game "City of Heroes". Win or Loose it's going to give Marvel a black eye.
Some of their claim's have already been thrown out in court.
The fact is that the 3D object market in general is SUCH a niche that we serve as a better promotional tool that we would as an example.
We are just too damn small to worth eating in the end.
Joined: May 31, 2002 Posts: 38 Location: Springfield Gardens, NY
Posted: Mon Oct 17, 2005 1:02 pm Post subject: Re: Is it legal to sell??
Good points, Ratteler. I'm betting TurboSquid's well aware of what could happen. They'll just make what money they can until someone makes a stink. Then they cordially pull the product without blinking. Kinda reminds of my management days when a temp agency would just throw the worst employee into your office pool. If they end up staying, fine. If they get kicked out, they just send someone else the next day.
TurboSquid also has a lot more financial ability to absorb it if Disney, Marvel, or DC or someone sics a lawyer on them than say... Diane does.
That's not it though, not all of it. Neither I nor Diane would want someone copying our designs or characters without our permission and selling them, so we're going to try to avoid doing that to someone else. We pull copyright infringements from the store when we find them, and we try to screen for things to keep them from slipping in on us.
I'm going to hazard a guess that almost everyone that's a member of this site thinks/feels the same way about it. "Fan-art" characters and items belong in freebies.
As far as comic characters go... there's nothing that says someone can't create an original character design for sale. My belief is that a truly original design - character, costume, outfit, texture and all - would probably sell better than a rehash of a non-original design. Only disad is that you don't have the marketing and "buzz" pre-created for you, so you have to create it yourself. _________________ "I'd add a legitimate comment here, but that would mean reading everything, which I have no patience for." - Slynky
Joined: May 31, 2002 Posts: 850 Location: Ottawa Ontario Canada
Posted: Tue Nov 01, 2005 4:13 pm Post subject:
Ironbear is 100% on the money.
As artists/Designers/Modelers, we know full well what it feels like to have your work stolen for financial benefit by someone else. Even so much as going and taking a portion of someone elses texture, or using the grouping tool to make a prop for M3 or V3 (like my Batman cowl). Thats just plain theft. And for a store to sell that stolen item, they are no better than the thief themselves.
And like IB stated about making your own "super heroes". Just look at the selection of generic heroe textures the collective group known as "Sturkwurk" (Ther'es no way he's one man alone...there must be hundreds of them) has put out. I dont know the sales figures, but Im certain they sell well, they are 100% original, 100% his alone, and they are well done.
Besides - Selling items like super heroe textures? With a little patience, anyone can make their own Superman or Flash texture.
So why stit the soup up with possible legal action?
My 32¢ Canadian input. _________________ =============================
New World Media/Muskateer Graphics
~Live the dream, experience the nightmare
=============================
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