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Non commercial free game

A topic by brightxalice created Sep 25, 2023 Views: 1,136 Replies: 15

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brightxalice1 year ago (1 edit)

If I use assets that say they can only be used for non-commercial use, does that include posting a free game on here. I ask because I plan to eventually post games people can download for free but I know when you go to downloads, there's a way you can choose to pay anyway. I would guess this is similar to a donation. I wanted some other opinions on this. In short, if I post a game for free is it still non-commercial use even though people can choose to pay whatever they want should they be so inclined?

Edit: This is my first time making a topic so I don't know if it's proper etiquette to delete the topic after receiving an answer or leave it up. Either way, I want to thank everyone who took the time to respond. I'll be sure the contact the artist/owner of the asset and go from there. Thanks again to everyone and please have a great day.

Pop Shop Packs1 year ago(+3)

This feels like a question for a copyright lawyer. One could argue that you're still making money from the project, so it's not non-commercial use. But, the wording in the US BY NC implies that if the main point of the project is not to earn money, donations are fine.

As someone who creates assets, if I were you I would reach out to the artists who created the assets you want to use. They should be able to give you a better idea of what you can use their assets for

Deleted post1 year ago

Deleted 67 days ago

redonihunter1 year ago(+1)

non-commercial does not mean private use. private use means private use. replace with personal where necessary.

It is indeed an interesting question. I could not find a clear answer in a short time. The internet failed me.

The problem is, that the usual licences that invoke nc are intentional ambigous worded. Intent is important here, and the mere fact that money exchanges hands, does not impact this very much. You could sell a nc work at self cost, and since you do not make a profit, it is non commercial by definition. You could not sell a nc work but make advertisment for your business with it, and the intent would be profit by usage of the nc works.

Soo ... it's complicated.

Pay what you want, starting at 0 and with no buyable premium tiers sure sounds like non commercial. But if the pwyw model works and you are a business and the irs comes knocking, it will be hard to explain, that your commercial success is based on "donations".

Till better information comes up, it will be best to look for specific use cases of the assetts in question. While it is not legally possible to claim a certain license and just modify it arbitrarily, when the license giver says on their page, they allow or do not allow pwyw, you sure know what the license giver wanted to do.

We are talking about assets. No one is using assets in a personal scenario. (Maybe for internal testing, but that is a fringe scenario no one cars about, if it does not leave your own computer anyways). So the use case of that assett being used in a donation ware game should have been discussed by the license holder. Hopefully.

Deleted post1 year ago

Deleted 67 days ago

redonihunter1 year ago

This is not true.

The nc part is not about money. I did read the stuff about cc-nc, as this is probably meant with those non-commercial stuff. And they only have clauses about intent and commercial. Not about the fine and unimportant details, if you do collect money.

If your intent is to make money, it is commercial. Even if you do not collect money. You could print advertising posters for your commercial company with nc art, otherwise. Or can you do that? As I said, the internet failed me a bit here. But I did get that intent part.

Also, how do you see charity? They collect money. But it is not commercial.

FearCode1 year ago (3 edits) (+2)

This is the general rule of thumb for NC work: “not primarily intended for or directed towards commercial advantage or monetary compensation.”

That said, it still depends on the artist's (or owner of that asset) intentions. Although there are exceptions, people that explicit marks their work to be used as NC usually want it to be used for studying/reference only, so that could be a conflict scenario. You may have to contact the artist prior to using it to clarify.

redonihunter1 year ago

Because intent is such a very good word for legal texts... sigh. What were they thinking.

But if the license holder is available, it is entirely possible to ask for a non-nc, or rather "commercial" license. The nc license is usually not exclusive. So they could give out nc for not asking and c if asked nicely (or being paid ;-)

FearCode1 year ago(+1)

Yeah, lots of creators struggle to put their intentions into legal paperwork.

It's not uncommon to see artitsts that mark their work as CCBy-NC, saying things like: reference only, for educational or study purpose.

That's why I tend to filter out NC work when searching for assets for my game.

redonihunter1 year ago(+1)

Good strategy.

Even if donation-ware would be considered nc by most, one might want to change business model in the future to premium versions. And with that there would be no discussion about how non c the project would be.

With donation there is at least an ambigous area. It would be easier, if the money aspect would be more fleshed out. Because strictly, even if you do not make profit, your intent was to do so. But intent is hard to prove, so actions have to spell out the intent. (Otherwise you could just claim, ohhh, we never intended to make a profit by selling this hot new rogue like with addicting game mechanics and stunning nc art.) And if you do look at actions alone, giving away a thing for free does not look very profit orientated, or in other words, commercial. Accepting donations does not change this, as there is no obligation.

poison.ivy.maze1 year ago

Some time ago, I would have made an argument that memes were an example of NC. But with imgflip and A.I. scraping art from publicly available sources; I'm having a difficult time considering how NC is a helpful descriptor.

An academic using a work on an educational slide for their class... an educational reason (with purpose of critique) overrides more general copyright protections; but simply for a decoration reason might now be considered a commercial use (as the class notes are part of the package of what the academic institution uses to tuition students for money).

I'd advise the artist to choose a licence system such as one of the options offered by Creative Commons or another. (Probably not MIT licence as it also allows selling of that work to 3rd parties)

brightxalice1 year ago(+1)

Thank you everyone. I'll contact the artist (or owner of the asset) and go with whatever they want. Thanks again to anyone who took the time to respond. Have a great day.

The Hemohscin Project1 year ago(+1)

Your best option is to not use premade assets. It's always best to learn to do it yourself, especially because of the limiting restrictions in question. On top of that even if an asset doesn't have restrictions that could change at any point in the time the creator decides to change it.

Pop Shop Packs1 year ago

A lot of premade assets are designed to be placeholders until official art can be made for the game. They're meant to give game devs an idea of what the final project should feel and look like

The Hemohscin Project1 year ago

Well placeholders are just that, they're meant to be replaced. I am specifically talking about an official release of any game, hell even YouTubers would get screwed over for using music in videos that was "free" and later had it's terms and conditions changed. I have a lot of points against using premade assets but it becomes a whole discussion if I bring them up.

Pop Shop Packs1 year ago

Sorry, allow me to be clarify my previous comment. I am agreeing with you. Pre-made assets are designed to be placeholders and should be replaced before the final release of the project if the developer can afford custom art or can make the art themselves.

Small caveat to cover my butt and is not necessarily in response to any previous comment: Many developers on itch.io are unable to commision art or create art themselves. There is nothing wrong with indie game devs using pre-made assets in the final versions of their projects so long as they are used as the artist intended. As an artist, I love seeing the art I sell on itch.io in people's games because it's like giving life to something I created.

The Hemohscin Project1 year ago

I didn't assume you were agreeing or disagreeing, I mostly thought you were confused at what I claimed. However on your second point, no one is "unable" to create their own assets. It's all about time, willingness to learn, and in a way 'stubbornness' but really just not giving up. Like I said I have a lot points about this topic but unless you want to read an essay I will hold them back.

Pop Shop Packs1 year ago

I will have to agree to disagree with you here.

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