This is my first post so i'll be introducing myself to the community with this one: greetings to all of you at mapster! Some of the works I've seen here captured me with their beauty, originality, fun, to the point that I dream of being able to express my creativity like that too!
Hovewer, there's one initial question I've come across when I see an awesome custom content piece, and it is about ownership: does the sc2mapster author own his creations?
Let me specify the question further. I've been reading:
While reading the Acceptable Use Policy i've come across a section named "3. Ownership" where i can read the following: "Custom Games are and shall remain the sole and exclusive property of Blizzard. Without limiting the foregoing, you hereby assign to Blizzard all of your rights, title and interest in and to all Custom Games"
To understand what is meant exactly by the term "Custom Game" i make a reference to the EULA at Section "1(D)(ii)(1) Game editors", where the following is written: ""Custom Games" includes all content created using the Game Editor(s) [...] as well as (1) all content contained within such files [...] (2) all ... names and phrases associated with ... the Custom Game [...] and (3) any other intellectual property rights contained within"
Once I read this, I'm not clear anymore on the question above: does the custom content author own his creations? Or shall he/she fear that Blizzard corporation could claim his/her work anytime, for free, and without possibility of opposition by said author?
Lastly, I'll ad an example to these abstract questions i asked: "If I make my own awesome story with characters into a sc2 custom game or campaign, maybe even supplemented with 3d models, video or audio content of my own creation, will i lose my ownership (and my rights as a creator) on it all in favor of the Corporation?
Thanks in advance to all meaningful future answers.
Second edit (1:30 h after op): two additional related questions after reading about third party content use:
Question 1: could i, a mapmaker, avoid giving the content to Blizzard Corporation if i have another person (let's call him/her friend F) copyright that content before i use it? Is that a feasible workaround to try and retain some ownership?
Question 2: according to "section 4. Use of Third Party Content in Custom Games." i as the mapmaker must warrant that the third party content i use (in my example it'd be F's content) does not AND WILL NOT infringe any copyright of F. What happens in the case that the Corporation makes some use of the map(s) I made (an example: put it on the arcade), and after some time my friend F decides that his copyrighted content should not be used by Blizzard Corporation anymore? Who is the culprit of copyright infringement in this case? Me as mapmaker, or the corporation who is the current owner?
Well, you can't really monetize/put stuff behind a paywall in sc2. If blizz catch you doing that - they can force you to stop because you're profiting off something they own.
But at the same time things like kickstarter are fine.
Logically, If you make a kickass map - then they may put it on spotlight, perhaps attracting people to starcraft. Imagine if someone made a map and then demanded a compensation from blizzard because blizz benefited off the work he owned. I imagine this ownership grip keeps their asses safe from all sorts of legal trolls.
Thanks for the answer Ducky. I just comment it to point out that monetization, while clearly a related topic, is not the focus of the questions. I'll make a non-profit example that still stays inside the boudaries of the questions i asked: by being owner i can decide to release my content with a certain license (for example one that makes it reusable for free as long as I, the original author, am cited as the original maker. The theme i'm asking about is not bound to be just about my personal profit as you see). If I am not the owner but Blizzard is, it can decide how to license the content it owns how it desires.
Again, i'm grateful for the answer, i just want to point out that ownership is not only limited to personal profit or gain, but could also mean rights of modification or non-profit publication! The question is about ownership details and not about how to make personal gains out of created content.
Lastly, I agree with you: the goal of the ownership grip is most likely self-protection from abuse by mapmakers. It remains true however, that in the case that this grip is as tight as it seems to me, that the sc2 content creator is at a particularly sore disadvantage in case he desires any (not only profit-related) rights on his own work. Wouldn't you agree?
All custom assets and intellectual property are still owned by the creating artist but the map is handed over to blizzard (like writers/scientists hand over ownership of a book/paper to the publisher).
That clause stops someone suing blizzard because some other map maker used data or trigger assets from the map in another map.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Contribute to the wiki (Wiki button at top of page) Considered easy altering of the unit textures?
Thanks for the answer Doc!
I'm still having trouble understanding your answer though, sorry :( . Where is it stated that you can retain some rights (for example over custom assets and intellectual property) and not just transfer EVerything to blizzard, but instead only the map file(s)?
(I just see that intellectual content and custom assets are considered part of a custom game and that you mapmaker assign your every right in any custom game to blizzard)
- Again the next question that arises would be. Would that be different if you used assets or intellectual property copyrighted by your friend F, a third party?
As in if you wanted to make a direct clone of your map using some different engine like DOTA, then you would be screwed. However all characters and custom models which are considered imports are still yours.
With the third party art assets that would be a legal liability between you and them then because you lacked the rights to give that away.
Crystal clear. Thanks for the answers. It's relieving that in order to have sufficient protection against abuses, Bliz doesn't need to end up confiscating intellectual property and custom assets from mapmakers.
The EULA state that you may use almost all of blizzards work in your project. Anything from the starcraft, warcraft, and diablo universe. Similar to how we can use fan-art submitted to blizzard in our projects, we can use each-others projects. I can take your project and call it my own, and blizzard will support that. They own your project, I have the right to use anything they own. It is surprising, based on that, that maps are not all unlocked.
SCU is the only large enough scale game that I feel is gonna be held back by the platform. They have been given such a bump from Blizzard though, that it may actually be worth it. For the rest of us, the point is moot. Given the day and age we live in, the new "Dota" will not be made on an acrade system like this, and no one is gonna miss out on that golden ticket.
As OP-er, I'll try to summarize here the results of the discussion.
My original question was in brief: does the sc2 map author own his creations?
The answers didn't point all in the same direction. The idea that emerged from the majority of the answers is "No. The mapmaker doesn't own the content he creates. It's Blizzard's right from the start." but not everyone agreed.
Here below are my summaries of the answers given to my question by the contributors (if i'm interpreting something wrong tell me and i'll correct this)
Q: does the map author own his creations?
A:
EDHRIANO: Blizzard owns everything.
DuckyTheDuck: There is in fact a ownership grip by Blizzard, the purpose of which is to keep their asses safe from all sorts of legal trolls.
DrSuperEvil: Blizzard doesn't really own literally everything in a creator's project. All custom assets and intellectual property are still owned by the creating artist (all characters and custom models which are considered imports are still yours) but the map is handed over to blizzard (like writers/scientists hand over ownership of a book/paper to the publisher)
houndofbaskerville: The eula of Sc2 actually makes the work of a mapmaker into property of Blizzard, along with all the content that third parties allowed the mapmaker to use in his project (for example, voice files created by the mapmaker's friends)
Glornll: Blizzard owns each mapmaker's projects, and this way they make those projects effectively shareable for re-use to the whole mapmaking community (under an overall Blizzard's ownership).
______
There are two conflicting opinions on the question whether the creating artist actually maintains ownership of custom assets (for example custom audio files) and items of intellectual property (for example the story behind a custom campaign).
On the other hand every answerer agreed on the fact that Blizzard transfers to itself all the rights regarding the custom map itself.
Well, I really have no problem asking directly to the source , but errm... I'm at an impasse about how to effectively contact the legal department and obtain an answer.
I sincerely doubt they're willing to hand out free answers to random guys like me.
There's no legal contact in the "Contact us" webpage (http://us.blizzard.com/en-us/company/about/contact.html), there's no legal subsection in the "customer support" system. I'm starting to think I would have to write them a plain old paper letter: "Dear Blizzard Entertainment legal dept.,...." and expect a free answer meow <3 (a related physical mail address is printed at http://us.blizzard.com/en-us/company/about/infringementnotice.html)
Would you happen to have contacted the legal team before? How to do it?
I have developed the idea that when you use the editor you transfer all your rights to Blizzard Entertainment, including your rights on custom assets and all items of intellectual property. The real difference happes whether 1) you are the author (and therefore you have all rights to the things inside the map), or 2) you aren't the author.
If you're the author you transfer your rights of authorship to Blizzard Entertainment as a whole.
If you're not the author you will transfer to Blizzard Entertaiment only the rights you possess as a user (which rights precisely depends on the license of the things youre using) and the rights of authorship remain assigned to the creating artist.
Oddly enough, you're more screwed if you use material you created yourself : P That's my catch, and whatever i develop i'll keep that in mind
What has been said is mostly true, but don't forget the practicality of law. When people ask these kinds of questions they often get hung up in "how-would-it-work". While that's a fine exercise, 90% of that won't occur in the average situation. Jaywalking's illegal in some places, but I can assure you that those rules are not enforced in 99% of situations.
Same thing here: if you don't actually attempt to make money of your stuff or end up becoming some sort of super-content-creator (think Eul with the original DotA), then the likeliest scenario is that none of this will ever matter.
On top of that, contacting legal departments usually isn't going to have great results. I mean, you could certainly try, but people working there are not going to waste time (=money) writing you detailed instructions of what you can or cannot do. They expect you to hire your own lawyer to do that for you. The Blizzard legal department is there to protect Blizzard. Which means you're going to get a reply that says something general and vague along the lines of "The ToS and the EULA are binding" and "Blizzard owns any custom made stuff it can legally own once it is put onto the arcade". They're just trying to make sure Blizzard has the edge in any potential future lawsuit that may crop up between you and them, and are not going to put in any more time in than is required to do that.
me whe i read that < - - man! So true :O
thanks for this answer, it's so very the truth of the matter. I'd put a like on it 5 times but i'm allowed to do it only once :P
This is my first post so i'll be introducing myself to the community with this one: greetings to all of you at mapster! Some of the works I've seen here captured me with their beauty, originality, fun, to the point that I dream of being able to express my creativity like that too!
Hovewer, there's one initial question I've come across when I see an awesome custom content piece, and it is about ownership: does the sc2mapster author own his creations? Let me specify the question further. I've been reading:
While reading the Acceptable Use Policy i've come across a section named "3. Ownership" where i can read the following: "Custom Games are and shall remain the sole and exclusive property of Blizzard. Without limiting the foregoing, you hereby assign to Blizzard all of your rights, title and interest in and to all Custom Games"
To understand what is meant exactly by the term "Custom Game" i make a reference to the EULA at Section "1(D)(ii)(1) Game editors", where the following is written: ""Custom Games" includes all content created using the Game Editor(s) [...] as well as (1) all content contained within such files [...] (2) all ... names and phrases associated with ... the Custom Game [...] and (3) any other intellectual property rights contained within"
Once I read this, I'm not clear anymore on the question above: does the custom content author own his creations? Or shall he/she fear that Blizzard corporation could claim his/her work anytime, for free, and without possibility of opposition by said author?
Lastly, I'll ad an example to these abstract questions i asked: "If I make my own awesome story with characters into a sc2 custom game or campaign, maybe even supplemented with 3d models, video or audio content of my own creation, will i lose my ownership (and my rights as a creator) on it all in favor of the Corporation?
Thanks in advance to all meaningful future answers.
____
Edit (30 mins after): a maybe-useful, somewhat related forum discussion can be found at https://www.sc2mapster.com/forums/general/general-chat/56307-lets-read-star-craft-ii-custom-game-acceptable-use/ but the focus of that topic was on the possibility of copying certain blizzard games and not on ownership details.
__
Second edit (1:30 h after op): two additional related questions after reading about third party content use:
Question 1: could i, a mapmaker, avoid giving the content to Blizzard Corporation if i have another person (let's call him/her friend F) copyright that content before i use it? Is that a feasible workaround to try and retain some ownership?
Question 2: according to "section 4. Use of Third Party Content in Custom Games." i as the mapmaker must warrant that the third party content i use (in my example it'd be F's content) does not AND WILL NOT infringe any copyright of F. What happens in the case that the Corporation makes some use of the map(s) I made (an example: put it on the arcade), and after some time my friend F decides that his copyrighted content should not be used by Blizzard Corporation anymore? Who is the culprit of copyright infringement in this case? Me as mapmaker, or the corporation who is the current owner?
Blizzard owns everything.
Ever since DoTA they are a bit salty about ownership (like seriously).
As long as it is uploaded to battle.net it is theirs by default,
If it was scripted by using their editor it is theirs by default,
If the youtubers that play them add : custom campaign for starcraft .... yeah I think you can already see the pattern here....
Well... perhaps the captain can give more enlightenment.
CMIIW Captain.
My projects : The Hammer of Dawn, Noir : Automata, Noir : Evolution, Noir : Ascension, Hammer of Dawn Revamp
Many awesome projects : Custom Campaign Initiative
Something for the community : A Small Letter of Thanks, SC2mapster Classic Skin - Alevice
Well, you can't really monetize/put stuff behind a paywall in sc2. If blizz catch you doing that - they can force you to stop because you're profiting off something they own.
But at the same time things like kickstarter are fine.
Logically, If you make a kickass map - then they may put it on spotlight, perhaps attracting people to starcraft. Imagine if someone made a map and then demanded a compensation from blizzard because blizz benefited off the work he owned. I imagine this ownership grip keeps their asses safe from all sorts of legal trolls.
@DuckyTheDuck: Go
Thanks for the answer Ducky. I just comment it to point out that monetization, while clearly a related topic, is not the focus of the questions. I'll make a non-profit example that still stays inside the boudaries of the questions i asked: by being owner i can decide to release my content with a certain license (for example one that makes it reusable for free as long as I, the original author, am cited as the original maker. The theme i'm asking about is not bound to be just about my personal profit as you see). If I am not the owner but Blizzard is, it can decide how to license the content it owns how it desires.
Again, i'm grateful for the answer, i just want to point out that ownership is not only limited to personal profit or gain, but could also mean rights of modification or non-profit publication! The question is about ownership details and not about how to make personal gains out of created content.
Lastly, I agree with you: the goal of the ownership grip is most likely self-protection from abuse by mapmakers. It remains true however, that in the case that this grip is as tight as it seems to me, that the sc2 content creator is at a particularly sore disadvantage in case he desires any (not only profit-related) rights on his own work. Wouldn't you agree?
All custom assets and intellectual property are still owned by the creating artist but the map is handed over to blizzard (like writers/scientists hand over ownership of a book/paper to the publisher).
That clause stops someone suing blizzard because some other map maker used data or trigger assets from the map in another map.
Contribute to the wiki (Wiki button at top of page) Considered easy altering of the unit textures?
https://www.sc2mapster.com/forums/resources/tutorials/179654-data-actor-events-message-texture-select-by-id
https://media.forgecdn.net/attachments/187/40/Screenshot2011-04-17_09_16_21.jpg
@DrSuperEvil: Go
Thanks for the answer Doc! I'm still having trouble understanding your answer though, sorry :( . Where is it stated that you can retain some rights (for example over custom assets and intellectual property) and not just transfer EVerything to blizzard, but instead only the map file(s)?
(I just see that intellectual content and custom assets are considered part of a custom game and that you mapmaker assign your every right in any custom game to blizzard)
- Again the next question that arises would be. Would that be different if you used assets or intellectual property copyrighted by your friend F, a third party?
____
Special thanks for the comparison with the writing and manuscript world. I suggest a couple of pages to read: they're exclusively focused on writers and copyright of written documents but it's possible to transfer some of the concepts they express to the specific field of sc2 content creation. (these are both external links) http://fairuse.stanford.edu/overview/faqs/copyright-ownership/ http://copyright.cornell.edu/policies/copyright_management.cfm
It seems to me that in the case of blizz, it wants you to tranfer to them all your rights to the map. Would you agree with my conclusion here?
As in if you wanted to make a direct clone of your map using some different engine like DOTA, then you would be screwed. However all characters and custom models which are considered imports are still yours.
With the third party art assets that would be a legal liability between you and them then because you lacked the rights to give that away.
Contribute to the wiki (Wiki button at top of page) Considered easy altering of the unit textures?
https://www.sc2mapster.com/forums/resources/tutorials/179654-data-actor-events-message-texture-select-by-id
https://media.forgecdn.net/attachments/187/40/Screenshot2011-04-17_09_16_21.jpg
@DrSuperEvil: Go
Crystal clear. Thanks for the answers. It's relieving that in order to have sufficient protection against abuses, Bliz doesn't need to end up confiscating intellectual property and custom assets from mapmakers.
I think i see what you mean.
I made a map with people"s features/voices that I can not (obviously) make available to "everyone" (since I don't know what they will do with it).
I HAVE to trust that blizz hard will not misuse / use these files .. or I can't upload my map to be played.
Their eula makes my work and those people's "private property" their property, which allows them to prevent any misuse by a third party.
In case of any "problem", YOUR only recourse is proving that this is "yours" and that should resolve the problem (someone stealing your "assets").
The problematic bit is that this is lazyness..
blizz hard does not care about protecting you, only themselves.
Stealing YOUR work, to protect themselves = lol
(also, all the abuse you fear can still happen, the thing is that blizz hard cannot be liable for these happenstance)
All in all a bad administrative deal (the worst you can get), for a fun toy (galaxy) and a crappy platform/features.
So .. if you are doing it for yourself, it is all good.. if you wish to retain control over your work.. go on unity or other.
I feel obligated to point out:
The EULA state that you may use almost all of blizzards work in your project. Anything from the starcraft, warcraft, and diablo universe. Similar to how we can use fan-art submitted to blizzard in our projects, we can use each-others projects. I can take your project and call it my own, and blizzard will support that. They own your project, I have the right to use anything they own. It is surprising, based on that, that maps are not all unlocked.
SCU is the only large enough scale game that I feel is gonna be held back by the platform. They have been given such a bump from Blizzard though, that it may actually be worth it. For the rest of us, the point is moot. Given the day and age we live in, the new "Dota" will not be made on an acrade system like this, and no one is gonna miss out on that golden ticket.
Skype: [email protected] Current Project: Custom Hero Arena! US: battlenet:://starcraft/map/1/263274 EU: battlenet:://starcraft/map/2/186418
As OP-er, I'll try to summarize here the results of the discussion. My original question was in brief: does the sc2 map author own his creations?
The answers didn't point all in the same direction. The idea that emerged from the majority of the answers is "No. The mapmaker doesn't own the content he creates. It's Blizzard's right from the start." but not everyone agreed. Here below are my summaries of the answers given to my question by the contributors (if i'm interpreting something wrong tell me and i'll correct this)
Q: does the map author own his creations? A:
______
There are two conflicting opinions on the question whether the creating artist actually maintains ownership of custom assets (for example custom audio files) and items of intellectual property (for example the story behind a custom campaign). On the other hand every answerer agreed on the fact that Blizzard transfers to itself all the rights regarding the custom map itself.
Ever considered emailing the blizzard legal team?
Contribute to the wiki (Wiki button at top of page) Considered easy altering of the unit textures?
https://www.sc2mapster.com/forums/resources/tutorials/179654-data-actor-events-message-texture-select-by-id
https://media.forgecdn.net/attachments/187/40/Screenshot2011-04-17_09_16_21.jpg
@DrSuperEvil: Go
Well, I really have no problem asking directly to the source , but errm... I'm at an impasse about how to effectively contact the legal department and obtain an answer. I sincerely doubt they're willing to hand out free answers to random guys like me.
There's no legal contact in the "Contact us" webpage (http://us.blizzard.com/en-us/company/about/contact.html), there's no legal subsection in the "customer support" system. I'm starting to think I would have to write them a plain old paper letter: "Dear Blizzard Entertainment legal dept.,...." and expect a free answer meow <3 (a related physical mail address is printed at http://us.blizzard.com/en-us/company/about/infringementnotice.html) Would you happen to have contacted the legal team before? How to do it?
_______
A quick search through bnet's forums yielded the two following related posts though: - http://us.battle.net/forums/en/sc2/topic/7006247142#post-1 - http://us.battle.net/forums/en/sc2/topic/15270809411#post-1
________
I have developed the idea that when you use the editor you transfer all your rights to Blizzard Entertainment, including your rights on custom assets and all items of intellectual property. The real difference happes whether 1) you are the author (and therefore you have all rights to the things inside the map), or 2) you aren't the author. If you're the author you transfer your rights of authorship to Blizzard Entertainment as a whole. If you're not the author you will transfer to Blizzard Entertaiment only the rights you possess as a user (which rights precisely depends on the license of the things youre using) and the rights of authorship remain assigned to the creating artist.
Oddly enough, you're more screwed if you use material you created yourself : P That's my catch, and whatever i develop i'll keep that in mind
What has been said is mostly true, but don't forget the practicality of law. When people ask these kinds of questions they often get hung up in "how-would-it-work". While that's a fine exercise, 90% of that won't occur in the average situation. Jaywalking's illegal in some places, but I can assure you that those rules are not enforced in 99% of situations.
Same thing here: if you don't actually attempt to make money of your stuff or end up becoming some sort of super-content-creator (think Eul with the original DotA), then the likeliest scenario is that none of this will ever matter.
On top of that, contacting legal departments usually isn't going to have great results. I mean, you could certainly try, but people working there are not going to waste time (=money) writing you detailed instructions of what you can or cannot do. They expect you to hire your own lawyer to do that for you. The Blizzard legal department is there to protect Blizzard. Which means you're going to get a reply that says something general and vague along the lines of "The ToS and the EULA are binding" and "Blizzard owns any custom made stuff it can legally own once it is put onto the arcade". They're just trying to make sure Blizzard has the edge in any potential future lawsuit that may crop up between you and them, and are not going to put in any more time in than is required to do that.
@Mozared: Go
me whe i read that < - - man! So true :O thanks for this answer, it's so very the truth of the matter. I'd put a like on it 5 times but i'm allowed to do it only once :P