Intellectual Property

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Revision as of 13:11, 13 June 2023 by Lou Montana (talk | contribs) (Add FAQ)
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This page covers many questions some users may have about what they can and cannot do about Bohemia Interactive's or other licenses for a free, non-commercial use.


Definitions

Term Definition
License License
End-User License Agreement (EULA) End-user license agreement
Intellectual Property (IP) Intellectual property
Fair Use Fair use / Fair dealing / Stanford uni link
Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) DMCA / US Summary


Fair Use

«
« You keep using that word, I do not think it means what you think it means » – Iñigo Montoya (source)


"Fair Use" is very often called as the ideal line of defense regarding copyright infringement.
Alas for its subscribers, Fair Use most likely means allowed for research and educational purpose, under which gaming/modding does not fall. It is also a personal, non-commercial "default license" that cannot cover a mod team nor Steam distribution of such work.

For more information, see the Wikipedia articles Fair use / Fair dealing above.

Personal Use

"Personal Use", as "Fair Use", is also frequently used to justify illegal IP usage.
Personal use means for oneself only. Personal use does not cover group usage (e.g friends, clans), let alone reuploads.


Bohemia Interactive

Arma Reforger
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Important!
Regarding BI Tools usage, anything that went through BI Tools can NOT be sold by default, without express authorization from Bohemia Interactive. See BITools EULA for more information.
Category Action Allowed Conditions
Mods & PBO Buying/Selling mods Unchecked BITools EULA
Buying/Selling pbo files Unchecked BITools EULA
Forward-porting previous BI games content to newer ones Checked BITools EULA
3D Models Buying/Selling p3d 3D models Unchecked BITools EULA
Buying/Selling non-p3d 3D models Checked N/A
Buying/Selling non-p3d to p3d conversion service Unchecked BITools EULA
Textures Buying/Selling paa textures Unchecked BITools EULA
Buying/Selling non-paa textures Checked N/A
Buying/Selling non-paa to paa conversion service Unchecked BITools EULA
Text content Buying/Selling sqf scripts Checked N/A
Buying/Selling cpp (config) files Checked N/A
Buying/Selling bin (binarised config) files Unchecked BITools EULA
Monetizing in-game content Giving/Taking money for Arma 3 server content Checked Monetization Rules
Giving/Taking money for DayZ server content Checked Monetization Rules
Media Monetizing Monetizing a video of BI game(s) Checked Monetization Rules

See also:

Arma

Take On Helicopters


Steam EULA

Steam Subscriber Agreement (User Generated Content paragraph)

  • items must be uploaded by the creator/owner/group account or the uploader must have been authorised to do so by the aforementioned creator(s). It is forbidden to upload an item that was made by someone else otherwise.


Other Intellectual Properties

In a general manner, companies do not agree to usage of their Intellectual Property without a license agreement. Here are some licenses detailed for a free, non-commercial use.

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Important:
Please note that this table is provided as an assistance and should in no way be considered a legal reference.
Bohemia Interactive cannot and will not be held responsible for any license misuse you may commit.
You and only you will be held responsible for your actions. As a general rule of thumb, read and abide by each company's EULA.

Use the provided information at your own risk!
ⓘ
This table was last updated on 2021-12-18 and may be obsolete at the time of reading.
  • Read the respective EULA to be sure, as your personal responsibility is involved!
  • You can provide additional information on the Arma Discord Server, in the #community_wiki channel.
License Owned by EULA Agreement-less
usage		 Licensing contact
Babylon 5 Warner Bros
Licensing Company of America 		N/A
Unknown 		Contact info
BattleStar Galactica Universal Studios N/A
No 		N/A
BattleTech / MechWarrior The Topps Company N/A
No 		N/A
Command and Conquer Electronic Arts Terms of Service
Seems to be tolerated 		N/A
DC Comics Warner Bros N/A
Unknown 		Contact info
Fallout Bethesda Zenimax Media Terms of Service
No 		Contact info
Gears of War Microsoft Studios Dev Rules
Seems to be accepted 		N/A
Halo Microsoft Studios Dev Rules
Seems to be accepted 		N/A
Marvel Comics The Walt Disney Company
Marvel
No

Contact info 1
Contact info 2

Metal Gear Solid Konami N/A
Unknown 		N/A
SCP Foundation SCP wiki SCP Licensing Guide (CC-BY-SA)
No 		Contact info
Stargate Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios N/A
No 		N/A
Starship Troopers Sony Pictures Home Entertainement N/A
Unknown 		N/A
Star Trek CBS Entertainment Terms of Use
Seems to be tolerated 		N/A
Star Wars The Walt Disney Company
LucasFilm Ltd.
No 		Contact info
Warhammer Games Workshop Intellectual Property Policy
Unsure about distribution 		Contact info


Frequently Asked Questions

bi symbol white.png
Important:
Please note that this FAQ is provided as an assistance and should in no way be considered a legal reference.
Bohemia Interactive cannot and will not be held responsible for any license misuse you may commit.
You and only you will be held responsible for your actions. As a general rule of thumb, read and abide by each company's EULA.

Use the provided information at your own risk!


Can I use models from a game of my favourite franchise? I will give credits!
Not if these models have been ripped (extracted from the game)
Not without permission of both the model's rights owner and the franchise's intellectual property owner. Giving credits without permission is legally meaningless.


All the models are made from the ground up, so I can use the universe of my favourite Intellectual Property, correct?
No. Using the trademark (the universe, terms, lore) without permission is not allowed. Ask for permission or do not, there is no try.


I use models for a free videogame usage, this goes under Fair Use?
No. In short, Fair Use is valid for a creation's criticism or studying and not for public release of any sort. Refer to Fair Use to know more about why claiming Fair Use is wrong regarding modding.


So, in order to do anything, what do I need?
Two conditions are required:
  • to have the Intellectual Property owner's permission:
    • the permission can be implicit (the EULA can allow modders to create content without specifically asking)
    • the permission can be explicit (the EULA states that by default no content can be created unless approved)
  • to have models:
    • the models can come from another game - provided the model rights' owner provided an implicit or explicit permission
    • the models must otherwise be created from scratch

Anything else is intellectual property (copyright, trademark) theft.


See Also

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