BVE Copyright Reminder

[The Snap]

Hi all,

I have encountered a couple of copyright issues relating to BRT products being republished elsewhere, which are currently being resolved.

I'd just like to take this opportunity to remind people of the copyright rules of BVE, which were outlined in the BVE Developer Guidelines some years ago. To my disappointment, I discovered today that these are no longer available, which has clearly resulted in a lot of ambiguity with regards to what can be done and what can’t in terms of copyright.

This is a link to an archived version of the Guidelines for your reference. Please read and understand them, as I believe they are still very appropriate to BVE.

http://web.archive.org/web/20090604182133/http://www.railsimroutes.co.uk/developerguidelines/

Also for those who don't fully understand the laws of copyright, a definition/description:

"A copyright is a set of exclusive rights granted by a state to the creator of an original work or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for public disclosure of the work. This includes the right to copy, distribute and adapt the work. In most jurisdictions copyright arises upon fixation and does not need to be registered. Copyright owners have the exclusive statutory right to exercise control over copying and other exploitation of the works."

I hope people take heed of this reminder, as at present there seems to be a degree of anarchy and a 'do-as-you-please' attitude, perhaps due to the lack of guidelines available.

Could this be stickied by a mod?

Cheers,
Rich

 

[Turbostar]

This is only going to start arguments again, just when we thought things were getting back on track (no pun intended)... :roll:

 

[Darandio]

This is only going to start arguments again, just when we thought things were getting back on track (no pun intended)... :roll:

But at the same time, every creator has a right to protect their creations. The problem is, as BVE is freeware along with all creations for it, many just read this as a right to do as they please.

Unfortunately, due to all of the shenanigans within the community, BVE died for me a long time ago. I tried to get back into it some weeks ago but with the majority of items not available, it became pretty fruitless.

 

[Turbostar]

But at the same time, every creator has a right to protect their creations. The problem is, as BVE is freeware along with all creations for it, many just read this as a right to do as they please.

Unfortunately, due to all of the shenanigans within the community, BVE died for me a long time ago. I tried to get back into it some weeks ago but with the majority of items not available, it became pretty fruitless.

I agree with you totally Darandio, & this is one of the reasons why all the shenanigans started in the first place. Just feel that bringing up the subject again of copyright issues, this is only going to start war again in the BVE community.

 

[Voyager 2093]

This is why I tried to revive the BVE community with a totally different approach to BVE. I'm not too fussed about copyright law as BVE is only a game. You can't marry it, you can't go out with it, you can't talk to it. The way I see it is like this; If I saw my route on someone else's webpage providing they gave reference to me as the author I wouldn't care because it shows how great your route is for someone to want to put it on their website. Don't shoot me down now, but that is just the way I see it.

 

[ralphchadkirk]

This is why I tried to revive the BVE community with a totally different approach to BVE. I'm not too fussed about copyright law as BVE is only a game. You can't marry it, you can't go out with it, you can't talk to it. The way I see it is like this; If I saw my route on someone else's webpage providing they gave reference to me as the author I wouldn't care because it shows how great your route is for someone to want to put it on their website. Don't shoot me down now, but that is just the way I see it.

That may be how you feel, but you have to respect other's wishes if they choose to control their copyright. Otherwise, it is likely that your website will be closed down.

 

[Voyager 2093]

That may be how you feel, but you have to respect other's wishes if they choose to control their copyright. Otherwise, it is likely that your website will be closed down.

I do respect other people's views, I was just giving my opinion. I have now sought permission from Richard and he has agreed. So we're okay in that department.

 

[Darandio]

I'm not too fussed about copyright law as BVE is only a game.

You want to take the community forward but make a statement like above?

I fully appreciate the steps you are trying to make in order to restore normality to the world of BVE. However, you cannot just blatantly ignore copyright law.

 

[Voyager 2093]

You want to take the community forward but make a statement like above?

I fully appreciate the steps you are trying to make in order to restore normality to the world of BVE. However, you cannot just blatantly ignore copyright law.

I didn't say I was ignoring it. I believe it in but seeing all the fuss it has caused in recent times its not something I like the stall on. But that is just me and where my products are concerned.

 

[The Snap]

This is only going to start arguments again, just when we thought things were getting back on track (no pun intended)... :roll:

I very nearly put a note at the bottom of my post stating that I did not want this thread to descend into yet another argument!

All I wanted to do was remind people of the rules as there seems to have been a bit of 'do-as-you-please' because of the lack of guidelines.

I am not having a go at anyone here, as after all, it is only a game...and a free one at that! I'm just reminding people of what's right and what's wrong... .

 

[ralphchadkirk]

I think a number of facts in the above post need a little correction. This is how I understand it, and the CD and P act 1988 agrees with me.

(1) Copyright exists whether you pay for something or not.
(2) Copyright is an automatic right that starts as soon as someone creates the work.
(3) A © sign has no legal relevance - you do not need to display one to claim copyright.
(4) The author of the work can take any action they wish to remove your illegally hosted work. This could result in a Civil court case. I highly doubt Google are acting contrary to Section 23 Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
(5) There is no such thing as the Copyright Protection Act 1988.
(6) There is no such thing as a "receipt of lawful copyright", except as a optional document produced by a solicitor to verify that you created the work when you did.

 

[eezypeazy]

(6) There is no such thing as a "receipt of lawful copyright", except as a optional document produced by a solicitor to verify that you created the work when you did.

In 'olden' days, when novelists offered their typed manuscripts to pubishers and sent them by Royal Mail, it was common practice to post a carbon copy of the work back to themselves at the same time. When the novelist received his copy back in the post, he would keep it unopened, because the post mark on the envelope would provide enough proof in a court of law to prove the provenance of the original work should a dispute arise. And it was much cheaper than retaining a solicitor!

Somehow I suspect that, in this electronic age, proving ownership might not be so simple...

Regards to all

eezypeazy

 

[TheJRB]

I am a big supporter of Creative Commons licensing and apply an Attribution-ShareAlike license to all of my photos and videos. It's my feeling that by using CC, better products can be created by help of the community and people can use products without feeling guilty (with respect to heavy handed copyright). However, that is not to say that I do not respect typical "All Rights Reserved" Copyright, or the individual developer's decision as every case is different, but I'd just like to see a little more "freedom" with content.