How to check if legal software was used ?
vertex
Hello everyone,
My company is planning to get their foot into the industry, we will be hiring people to create game for us and and launch some 3D online challenges.
I am an extreme newbie when it comes to Game Art, so I do not really know how technicalities work.
Can someone tell me, how can I check if the work that we got from freelancer was done on a legal software ?
Also, if we create art online art challenge(something similiar to CGTrader or Blizzart Challenge) and people submit their work done on pirated software, should we check it before we give away the prizes ?
Of course, do not get me wrong, I understand that most of the people who take part in these kind of contests are newbies that can't allow themselves to spend money on software.
It just gets weird, when you see someone trying to win a copy of Substance software, while he used Substance in his work.
If anyone could shed some light on it, I'd be glad.
Greetings
My company is planning to get their foot into the industry, we will be hiring people to create game for us and and launch some 3D online challenges.
I am an extreme newbie when it comes to Game Art, so I do not really know how technicalities work.
Can someone tell me, how can I check if the work that we got from freelancer was done on a legal software ?
Also, if we create art online art challenge(something similiar to CGTrader or Blizzart Challenge) and people submit their work done on pirated software, should we check it before we give away the prizes ?
Of course, do not get me wrong, I understand that most of the people who take part in these kind of contests are newbies that can't allow themselves to spend money on software.
It just gets weird, when you see someone trying to win a copy of Substance software, while he used Substance in his work.
If anyone could shed some light on it, I'd be glad.
Greetings
Replies
I havent done freelance myself, but from what Ive heard, it's very "dont ask dont tell".
That said, most freelancers will have a paid version. Contests will draw more pirates.
Those pirates pretty much never win anyways.
make as much sense as checking if the team winning the world cup in fotball are all wearing legally obtained shoes.
Same with a contest, somewhere in the EULA you should have the liability worked out.
Best to talk to a lawyer about it
www.rocketlawyer.com
"Hey guys I use pirated software and want to know if I enter contests on Polycount or submit stuff I make to CGTrade can they see I used illegal software and get caught?"
Maybe I am just a cynic but I come on, lets all be honest here.
It is still something I wonder about and I do have legal licenses of my software. And if someone is starting up a studio and all they receive is .fbx and .obj files how can they tell they aren't being screwed. Even with a liability clause in the contract it will still be a hassle to go through because your company is going to be dragged through the legal proceedings even if you are not the one at fault,
Does Academic Licence allow for entering competition ?? If it does, then pirated version should be allowed as well. And if you only ask for images of the finished product, then it shouldn't really matter. If they won, then could buy the real things. Also, many software are monthly subscription-base. Getting the real whole thing will be awesome for them.
With what Autodesk charges though, I do kind of have a hard time feeling bad for them.
All personnal and freelance work, I'll be using Blender but if I ever get a studio job, I'll just use what they have installed there (which s very likely to be Maya).:-)
I was thinking of doing freelance activites on my spare time but I really didnt want to spend my buck on AD's product only if there was no alternatives.
In some contracts I have added a clause about using CGTextures and the like, making it clear that the texture source files can't be resold. For example if source PSDs are provided, with a CGTextures image as a layer.
But software ownership is handled in the contract under indemnity.
Get a lawyer to advise you, well worth the upfront cost!
This seems to indicate there's no easy way to find out if the asset you buy from a third party has been created with legit tools or not.
As an individual I wouldn't chance to sell an asset produced on pirated software nonetheless... Autodesk lawyers must be pretty annoying to deal with if you get caught red-handed.
If someone used a pirated copy of 3DSMax and they used a non-legit copy of Photoshop for example, what's stopping them from just saying they used Blender and Krita as a cover-up. All the other tools like XNormal and stuff can be downloaded freely.
So in the end it begs the question, who gives a shit? No, there isn't a definitive way of knowing, and in the end most artists will eventually purchase legitimate copies once this sort of work becomes a reputable profession of theirs. Then it's a risk.
But if you take all the young talented artists out there, some of which are only 16-18 years old then how can you possibly fathom the possibility of them being able to subscribe and buy multiple packages which can rack up to hundreds or even thousands of dollars. In the end you're isolating a select crowd of people which I think is wrong.
Yes companies may suffer from this, however if you weigh in the substantial cost for studio licenses then counter in the pirate market, in the end it's such a small impact and minority. I'm not saying it's good, of-course there's a loss.
I mean shit, Adobe PS is pirated so much now I don't even think they give a shit anymore.
I personally use Blender because I believe it's seriously making ground and throwing punches with the big boys now. A year ago I wouldn't have said that, but if you look at some of the new features in it now, wow.
As already mentioned before in this topic, the best way I can summarize this is.
Don't ask, don't tell.