Releasing Under Creative Commons?

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qbradq
Posts: 972
Joined: Wed Oct 15, 2008 11:50 am

Re: Releasing Under Creative Commons?

Post by qbradq »

3gengames wrote:[On topic] But yeah, why doesn't anyone just type up a little paragraph on what they will be okay with happening with the carts? Aka like asking for permission to make them, what you DON'T want, etc?
The problem you run into there is with international laws and people being dicks. Clearly stating your wishes in plain English doesn't always mean those wishes are valid when it comes to the letter of the law in a particular jurisdiction (especially those with defined official languages).

I prefer using court-tested licenses so that I can clearly and legally state my wishes and assert my rights to a work. Without this it's fairly easy for a turd-party (pun intended) to come along, jack your work, publish it as their own and then file a grievance against you for violating their publishing and distribution rights to your work.

This sort of thing happened recently with GEMA in Germany. Due to the laws and regulations regarding published music in Germany, GEMA claimed damages against a group that published Creative Commons licensed music. The courts ruled the GEMA may assume they own the distribution and publishing rights to any audio track and may demand damages from perceived infringes without due process. The party in question must immediately pay reparations, and may then appeal to get their money back.

German News Article via Google Translate

So with all that BS going on in the world, I'd like to express my wishes in a way that's at least legally clear, even if the courts of a specific country choose to flat ignore them.

Also not a lawyer :D
slobu
Posts: 276
Joined: Tue Jul 12, 2011 10:58 am

Re: Releasing Under Creative Commons?

Post by slobu »

I've put some of my Atari 2600 games under Attribution 3.0 Unported (CC BY 3.0)
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Basically, I'd love for people to learn from my source. Also, free homebrew is awesome. However that doesn't mean they get to call the game itself theirs. Credit where credit is due.
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qbradq
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Joined: Wed Oct 15, 2008 11:50 am

Re: Releasing Under Creative Commons?

Post by qbradq »

That was the spirit of the suggestion. I'm glad to see there are other homebrewers that think the same way :D
slobu
Posts: 276
Joined: Tue Jul 12, 2011 10:58 am

Re: Releasing Under Creative Commons?

Post by slobu »

Of course, no one license is perfect for every situation.

I once developed something according to an artistic types specifications. My only request was a physical copy of the game. The game's been complete for months and haven't received anything yet. So far it's been sold at a convention, put for sale at a retail video game store and offered online via a web shop. What if I was a less patient man? What if that artistic type was also the fly-by-night type? I'm OK with waiting but am also aware that the license I chose doesn't really help in these situations.

So, the closer you get to money being involved the stricter and more selfish the license has to be. I think.
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