   Copyrights
  It`s not probably the best place for something like this but I`ll still ask1)Textures->say I take a texture from some game and I modify it a little bit(probably some more), then I use it commercially... is there any copyright law violated ?(Well offcourse the texture taking is only known by me)2)Classical Music->I have some classical music that I think would be suited for some scenes in xyz game/demo . Do I need copyrights for that ? if I`m going to sell anything offcourse. 
  1.  That''s most certainly an infringement of international copyright law.  You''ll need to make your textures from scratch, and they shouldn''t look like ones in other games.  Even if you get one from another game and change it entirely it''s not legal, and it''s a waste of time because you could have simply made your own.2.  It depends.  If it''s a recording that''s copyrighted, most certainly.  But if it''s sheet music that you yourself are playing, or you have an uncopyrighted recording, you''re OK.   ;  1) How do they know it came out from other stuff ? I`d be lying and say it`s mine and I made it with xyz program .2)I don`t know where it`s recorded... I took them trough a sharing software, but I`ll say again that I`ve created it in my apartment using a sheetHow do they know this came from that and that cames from somewhere else ? how can they prove it ? That`s what I don`t understand...For example... BulletTime is used in a couple of movies... did they bought the copyright from the original creators ?It`s like making some 3d rendered scene and someone comes and says that he owns the rights for virtual 3d rendering and there`s nothing you can do about it... just a case;  1. Truth be told, unless your textures have some hint that they came from somewhere, i.e. they look exactly the same, nobody will notice.  It really depends upon the degree to which the images are altered.  Are you just going to change the colour scheme? That would be a ripoff.  Are you going to simply add in some extra detail? That would also be a ripoff.  It's too vague to say for sure really.  Best to just steer clear of that whole area and make your own.2. I think any copyrights expire 50 years after the creator's death (don't quote me on this LOL), so "classical" music by, for example: Beethoven or Mozart, is entirely useable by anybody anywhere.  The intillectual property becomes public beyond 50 years of the creator's death. (Again, this is what I recall from one lecture a year and a half ago which wasn't part of course material, just in a discussion, so I may be wrong; check it out for yourself.)Cosmic One   [edited by - Cosmic One on January 26, 2004 11:25:41 AM];  You are going to a very very bad place when you die...Using anything   made by someone else without their permission is copyright infringement. Period.BulletTime can''t be copyrighted since it''s an idea. You can''t copyright the FPS genre, but you can copyright the Halo theme. ;quote:Original post by cippyboy  How do they know this came from that and that cames from somewhere else ? how can they prove it ? That`s what I don`t understand...Just cause someone can''t prove you stole something doesn''t make it legal, or right to do. ;  1) I depends how much you change it. But as Cosmic One mentiond, chances are nobody will notice it...2) Classical music itself is generaly not copyrighted, but there is copyright on actual performers (some orchestra for example)quote:Original post by Anonymous Poster   Just cause someone can't prove you stole something doesn't make it legal, or right to do.What about "inocent until proven guilty."quote:Original post by Raloth   You are going to a very very bad place when you die...I'm an atheist so I'm not going anywhere after I die  You should never let your fears become the boundaries of your dreams.   [edited by - _DarkWIng_ on January 26, 2004 2:01:42 PM];quote:Original post by cippyboy  It`s not probably the best place for something like this but I`ll still ask1)Textures->say I take a texture from some game and I modify it a little bit(probably some more), then I use it commercially... is there any copyright law violated ?(Well offcourse the texture taking is only known by me)Technically, the creator of the original will own the copyright. If you change the texture drastically, it''d be hard for them to determine whether it was their work or yours, but then, if you''re going to go that kind of effort, you may as well make your own from scratch. (If you need ''real-world'' textures, get a digital camera and take photos! It''s not that hard.)quote:2)Classical Music->I have some classical music that I think would be suited for some scenes in xyz game/demo . Do I need copyrights for that ? if I`m going to sell anything offcourse.   Classical music compositions by such long-dead composers as Beethoven, Mozart and Bach will be out of copyright, but the *performance* of a piece of music is copyrighted separately from the composition. The ownership of that copyright will belong to the performers. If you have an MP3 of Beethoven''s 9th Symphony, the chances are the performance itself is copyrighted.You can play a Mozart piano concerto yourself on a home keyboard and use the results in your game without paying anyone a penny.You cannot use an orchestral recording in the same way as the orchestra itself will own the copyright on the performance.This distinction between performer copyright and composer copyright was more obvious in the early years of popular music, when few performers wrote their own songs. ("The Monkees", for instance, wrote very few of their own songs.)-- Sean Timarco Baggaley;quote:Original post by cippyboy   1) How do they know it came out from other stuff ? I`d be lying and say it`s mine and I made it with xyz program .2)I don`t know where it`s recorded... I took them trough a sharing software, but I`ll say again that I`ve created it in my apartment using a sheetIt`s like making some 3d rendered scene and someone comes and says that he owns the rights for virtual 3d rendering and there`s nothing you can do about it... just a case Chances are you don't have much power in court if anyone thought you might have taken it so you'd be screwed, and also, it's a rude thing to do.Besides, you just posted it all over this forum so it would serve as evidence, so you'll get caught easily.   EDIT: You got the music through sharing software, so chances are it is illegal anyway. [edited by - cowsarenotevil on January 26, 2004 1:55:06 PM];  Probably the person that made the copyrighted content would never see your program (or whatever it may be) that uses it, unless it got very well known. You would probably get away with it, but it would be better to teach yourself how to make your own content if you are planning on making money from your projects in the future. Alot of times friends or even strangers are willing to help you make or borrow content if you give them credit. It''s best not to chance it, an image you alter may have a digital watermark or some way of identifing it, there could be evidence agains''t you right in the files data. 