Game Legal concerns

Hello,

I know this probably has been asked before but I just want some clarification since English is not my native language and there are many things I just can't put my finger on.
And before you tell me to go and read the License Agreement again - I did in it's full boring beauty - I just want a general "it's OK" or "better don't do it" statement (I won't consider this solid legal advice in any way)

I'm close to alpha test an application in public - meaning I'll advertise it on facebook. It is hosted on a public website and is intended to be available for free. Maybe there'll be a donation option but no commercial content like ads.
Sources for 3d models are mainly the Unity Asset Store (all the free stuff) and BlendSwap.
Sources of Audio files are freesounds.org
Font used is a google font.

Short question - if I credit all the sources properly(for the alpha phase ALL sources of this project are freely available on named websites), do I have to worry about a squad team of lawyers assaulting me any instance...?

What made me worry is that, when looking up free fonts I found out that even those that allow noncommercial use state that it is not allowed to use them in applications. So I kept reading - and I got very confused... up to the point where I ended up one of Google's fonts because the license was just fine.

Sounds (like those from Freesounds) are mostly licensed under Attribution License. So, as long as I credit the author I should be fine - however, do I have to do it in the application itself or is it sufficient to just credit the author on a corresponding webpage?

Is it OK to just dump my project into public for free and live a happy life ever after...?

 

If you really, really want to be sure, you need to ask a lawyer who specializes in these things, not random people on a game development forum.

 

Hi Drewradley,

yes I know that - as I said it's not the solid legal advice I'm looking for. I'm just curious if anybody has done the same (e.g. using all free stuff for their public testing) and if they did run into trouble, or have experience to share, just anything that'll make me a tiny bit more certain...

 

If you have a plethora of different sources you won't get an answer to it unfortunately. The problem is that every asset you are using may have different terms and conditions. Some may allow it. Some may under restrictions. Some may not. Some may have restrictions but not enforce them while others may even be created by someone else and illegally made public. The thing is we cannot know that so even if anyone here could make an educated guess otherwise - in this case it's just not possible to say what will happen.

This is also the reason I stay away from all these "free" ressources from various sites. Often times the terms are dubious at best. Sorry for the unsatisfying answer.

 

Yes, plenty of games have been released using free music, models, etc. Whether you can or not depends on way too many variables to give you an answer. If you gave us a complete list of everything and all the EULA some one MIGHT take their time to look them over and give you an answer, but without that, we have no idea if you are using an asset that you shouldn't be using.

 

Don't do this. I believe giving official legal advice is against forum rules.

If you game is big you can afford a lawyer. If your game is small make your best effort and nobody is likely to hunt you down.

 

Yeah, I wasn't actually suggesting they do that, just showing how broad a question it is and what it would take for us to answer it.

 

Asking a question like that and with that clarity in English and claiming your English is not native language wouldn't fly well in court and it really doesn't work here.

Aber wann mann wie ich Deutsch schreibe oder rede wie ich, so schlimm und gehalten, dann koennte sollches Disclaimer und Entschuldigen bedeutung haben.

I've read those licences too and the art assets bought or free are essentially home free. With success, you are more likely to have legal trouble with a professional legal troll than a legitimate artist or business. A professional artist or business will know how to profit from your success, while a lawyer troll is only seeking to make money. That said most lawyers, like everybody else, are honest citizens, however you can't deny the entire American debt and intellectual property systems are rife with bad businesses seeking money simply based on a desire to avoid court and harassment. I've dealt with such businesses, or rather, refused to deal with such businesses and you should too.

You've read the licenses and know that you are in the clear. When and if legal trolls come around they haven't a leg to stand on.

If I were to guess, I'd guess you must live in America because America is about the only place such a question would get asked.

 

Thank you all

Unfortunately the US isn't the only place where you run into legal trouble faster then you get a girl drunk... (Germany)
I wanted to get some feedback from people with experience. Since I can't afford a lawyer I want to get a feel for how likely I might run into trouble. Since the project size is quite small and considering the nonprofit nature of it I think I'll just take the risk and go for it.

I know the complexity of this question and I explicitly did not ask for foot down legal advice. All I wanted is to get a rough overview of the landscape I'm about to enter... Thanks guys.

PS: I'll spread the news should S*** hit the fan

 

The one thing I can say I know a bit about(because I've read and interpreted the licenses, hopefully correctly) is the freesound website's sounds. The attribution, at least as I have it understood, needs to be within the actual game/application, in a place where(not exact wording of the license) they can be easily found by somebody who wants to know. It says something about that it should require as little work as possible, but something simple like clicking to open a credits screen is fine. But it needs to be actually in the game itself.

In the cases where you will provide credits/attribution, I recommend a credits screen, directly accessible from the main menu of the game. They shouldn't have to go into several menus to find it, rather it should be right there on the main menu, after a click(or arrows plus press of enter key). In this way, it is easy to find, but yet many people won't see it, as in it won't get in the way, or make somebody have to wait around like splash screens sometimes do. So, it complies with the license being easy to find, but the information isn't forced on anyone either. I don't remember seeing anywhere that you actually have to show the attribution, assuming the person wasn't looking for it. So you don't have to put it directly in the main menu or anything like that.

I can't speak for the other assets you have obtained. And I'm no lawyer so the above thoughts are not legal advice. What I would say is good advice is to use common sense. Often the situation is that if you are doubting it(as in your instincts/gut feeling tells you to not do something), then you may be better off not doing it. Also, if possible, and feasible, it tends to be better to actually purchase the assets, or make them yourself. This is pretty much the only sure way to protect yourself from issues.

 

Thanks kburkhart84

those are the little details I struggle with. I'll follow your advice.

 

Not to bump the thread, but I recently looked in the same issue.
Font EULAs I looked at are very strict

I am not offering legal advice, but I came across this very common EULA clause for fonts on many font websites:
(www.fonts.com)

3. Embedding Font Software and Representations of Typeface and Typographic Designs and Ornaments. You may embed the Font Software only into an electronic document that (i) is not a Commercial Product, (ii) is distributed in a secure format that does not permit the extraction of the embedded Font Software, and (iii) in the case where a recipient of an electronic document is able to Use the Font Software for editing, only if the recipient of such document is within your Licensed Unit.

You may embed static graphic images into an electronic document, including a Commercial Product, (for example, a "gif") with a representation of a typeface and typographic design or ornament created with the Font Software as long as such images are not used as a replacement for Font Software, i.e. as long as the representations do not correspond to individual glyphs of the Font Software and may not be individually addressed by the document to render such designs and ornaments.

Here is MY interpretation of what this means:
1. You may install the font on the machine you are using to create your game
2. IF the game is for commercial use, you can only use the font to create pre-generated image files (JPG). These images can be displayed in your game. (i.e. have a GUI display the .JPG file).
3. You cannot create single images containing just one character to bypass #2.

This all assumes you purchased the font for a single-computer ($20-$30).
This is my interpretation of this EULA.
if im wrong, someone let me know/