Questions: Copyright/Licenses

[Dr_Kleiner]

How important is it to use/define a license for your work (maps/mods)?

Some developers just put a "(C) 2011 by John Doe" into their readme file.
Is this enough or is it recommended/necessary to write: This work is licenced under Creative Commons (for example)?
Or things like: You're not allowed to modify or to distribute it for commercial purposes...

I've also seen maps without any licence nor copyright information. Is there still a copyright existent or are they not protected in those cases?

Thanks for answers!

[marks]

Unless you're willing to pay to take someone to court over it, does it really matter? I dont think really anybody who posts on these forums is in that position. To answer your question though, I'm pretty sure that if you can prove you're the original author then thats all that really matters.

[dissonance]

IP is what matters, if I remember correctly.

Before you release anything, burn all your source materials (I mean EVERYTHING from vtf's to psd's, vmfs to old bsps, etc.) to a CD or DVD, then seal it in a tamper-evident envelope, strong enough to protect the CD, and mail it to yourself. When you get it back in a day or two, it will now be sealed and have an official, government-issued postmark on it. I honestly do not know what legal requirements this fulfills, but I'm pretty sure that if you took the envelope to a judge and said, "open this, note the date, then note the contents," he'd have no trouble accepting that the work was yours first.

[zombie@computer]

IP is what matters, if I remember correctly.

Before you release anything, burn all your source materials (I mean EVERYTHING from vtf's to psd's, vmfs to old bsps, etc.) to a CD or DVD, then seal it in a tamper-evident envelope, strong enough to protect the CD, and mail it to yourself. When you get it back in a day or two, it will now be sealed and have an official, government-issued postmark on it. I honestly do not know what legal requirements this fulfills, but I'm pretty sure that if you took the envelope to a judge and said, "open this, note the date, then note the contents," he'd have no trouble accepting that the work was yours first.

1) Mail an empty envelope (folded close, not glued/sealed)
2) wait for someone else's work you'd like to steal
3) put work on cd, put cd in envelope, seal envelope
4) profit.

So no, its bullocks.

[Dr. Delta]

A license is nice and clear for other people to know what you think they can('t) do with your work. But that is all, since afaik it's not a legal agreement.

[marks]

Posting source material to yourself doesnt hold up in court, at least in the US. There was a case a while back that set a precedent on that.

[Gambini]

I´d suggest to get your work well known by the community, post its release in all the cardinal directions. People will know you did it and if eventually somebody "steals" part of it not respecting your copyright permissions they will be punished by the people.

[DonPunch]

You send it cerified mail to yourself.

Cert mail seals the package.

If you are really worried about this, talk to a lawyer in the IP industry. To be honest, just make yourself a NDA and Collaberation contract and you will be covered for your source files, but honestly, if you have to ask this question here you don't need to worry about this kind of issue.

[pk_hunter]

Any original work is copyrighted from the moment it is created. Copyright ownership belongs to whoever created the original work, unless a prior contract signed by both parties states otherwise (for example in the case of a journalist writing for a magazine, the article would usually become the magazine's copyright as outlined in the author's contract.)

This should not be confused with Trademarking. Trademarks, you have to pay for and are a public identity for a product or business which are registered to one owner/business. This is what prevents you from publishing your mods under the title "Valve Software."

If another party wishes to use a copyrighted work, they must obtain a license, which will cost money. A 3D engine is a copyrighted work, so to use it to create your own games, you have to purchase a commercial license unless otherwise stated by the copyright owner.
There are some exceptions to this, though. For example "Fair use" legislation, which varies from country to country but generally involves either charities, news services or review services. (For example, a games magazine will have screenshots of games. They don't own the copyright to those screenshots, but can print them under Fair Use)

[dissonance]

So no, its bullocks.

Posting source material to yourself doesnt hold up in court, at least in the US. There was a case a while back that set a precedent on that.

Aww, really? Damn.
Well, thanks for the info.