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A few questions about using OA in a commercial product - jedidia - 02-21-2019
These are mostly questions about the legalities that may arise when using a shared world like OA in a commercial product.
More specifically, a computer game. Don't get excited yet, this thing is in the earliest stages of pre-production, and it's a very low-profile indie project anyways. There's a definite milestone for an MVP planned in three years time (Minimum viable product, basically the earliest possible alpha-demo that can be used to evaluate the potential of a concept), after which I'll have to make a decision about whether to go ahead or drop the thing. So nothing here is any kind of certain. Still, if you would like an elevator pitch, I'd describe the concept as "Darklands in space supported by procedural world and narrative generation".
A basic setting for the whole thing has been worked out during the last year, but not much of the wider worldbuilding required to support a rich RPG experience. That's when I remembered the few things I had read about Orions Arm before getting overwhelmed, and thought "you know, the stuff you *do* remember would actually seem to kind of fit...". So I came back, and with a helpful hand from Drashner read myself somewhat deeper into the setting over the past week. Still just scratching the surface, but enough to see that my hunch was not unfounded. Using OA as a wider setting seems plausible and could save me a whole lot of work. But there's the legal side of things to consider before digging deeper.
OA is a shared world, but it's not an "open source setting". The information I have about OA and copyright (which was very prominent and easily found, thank you very much!) states that every author retains copyright over the content created by him. On the one hand this is necessary so anyone would even risk locating a commercial product in the setting, on the other hand it can be daunting because there's a potential myriad of parties that might come after you if you accidentally piss them off. So knowing these things as early as possible is kind of essential for me, which is why I am asking these questions this early on.
The core setting itself would be original and contained to a single system, so no locations, characters or factions imagined by other authors would play an active role. I'll divulge more about the setting specifics later on (in fact, if I decide to go through with this and move it into OA, I will be very thankful for any help to integrate it as seamlessly as possible), for now here are my specific questions:
* Use of specific OA terms: Many terms, such as "transapients", "Vecs", "Provolves" etc are specific to OA. Ergo they have been introduced to the setting by somebody, and that somebody holds a copyright on them as per law. Am I allowed to use such terms that are generic *in* the setting, but specific *to* the setting, without explicit permission of their creators? Because it might get really tough to track them all down and get permission...
* Use of Clades/Technologies: Clades are a big thing in OA, and they were all invented and designed by somebody. Can I use clades that are described in the EG without asking their creators for explicit permission? If I for example wanted to use the Tavi as a playable clade (not planned at the moment, but they're kinda cute...), would I have to track down their inventor and work out the conditions with him personally? The same goes for specific tech, like if I wanted for example to include Nanoskin as a wearable armor, or specific tweaks etc.
* References to historic events: Am I allowed to use historic events from OA in the backstory without explicit permission by their authors (not any specific texts, just the events themselves)?
* Texts from the EG: Am I allowed to use copy-pasted passages from the EG (NOT including visual artwork) as in-game descriptions, codex entries etc? This one's probably a no-go...
* References to specific locations or characters: As mentioned, no locations or characters would appear in the game as actual entities, but there might be the odd reference to some things. Is it frowned upon to do such things without the permission of the respective author?
RE: A few questions about using OA in a commercial product - Drashner1 - 02-21-2019
So, as the ranking Managing Board member on hand, I can answer these for you
While it is true that all members retain copyright to whatever content they contribute to the setting, that is only half the story where the Orion's Arm Universe Project (OAUP) - that would be the formal name for the project - is concerned. Specifically:
The OAUP has been built up from the intellectual property of a lot of people over the years, and we long ago developed a policy for handling this issue. For a detailed rundown of all this, in full formal legalese, you can see our Terms and Conditions page, although it sounds like you've already read it, but perhaps missed the second part of how we handle copyright here (the T&C are a bit on the dense side).
For the Cliffs Notes version, please keep reading:
In a nutshell, contributors to the OAUP retain their copyright to whatever individual ideas, artwork, music, etc. that they contribute to the project. However, they grant the OAUP - in perpetuity - the right to use that content within the context of the OA setting in basically any way the Managing Board sees fit, including combining it with ideas from others, modifying it in whatever way we choose, or removing it from the setting and project entirely The act of contributing a piece of intellectual property to the project (i.e., posting an article/artwork to the forum and/or getting a article or picture or story or whatever published to the OA website) is considered to be acceptance of the Terms and Conditions. While the OAUP is a non-profit corporation, the only way it can make money is as the OAUP - none of our members draw a salary, everything is done via volunteers, the only exception being prize monies or royalties that we may pay to authors from our two book contests (or future endeavors if we do them - details TBD).
If a member wishes to use their original ideas in some other venture outside the OAUP, they are welcome to do so. They continue to own the copyright after all.
If a member (or a non-member) of the OAUP wishes to use ideas contributed by another member or members for something relating to OA, or outside of OA, they can either contact each author individually and get their permission OR they can contact the Managing Board (Rynn, Steve, and myself are all members) and the Board can grant them permission to use the ideas/concepts/whatever. Generally, our requirement for this is either a donation to the project via PayPal (usually done in the case of a third party wanting to use a member's artwork), or an attribution in the outside or related work stating that it uses concepts from/is inspired by/is set in the Orion's Arm Universe Project (www.orionsarm.com), etc. etc. The exact wording of the attribution is something we usually work out with the person as we go along.
Applying the above to what you've described so far, I see a couple of ways of approaching this. In no particular order:
1) You explicitly set the game inside the OA universe (making it OA Canon compliant as part of that), and market it as such - with a title that explicitly refers to OA in some way. Something like 'Orions' Arm - The Dimlands Saga' or 'The Dimlands Saga - An Orion's Arm Adventure Game' or somesuch. As a member of the OAUP essentially developing the game on behalf of the OAUP, and with the backing of the Managing Board, you would essentially have automatic access to virtually all IP contained with the setting (there are a few third party artworks that fall outside our normal process - they are marked in the EG and we can tell you which ones they are if you ask) as well as having the option to request the creative assistance of the project membership via the OA forum, Discord, or whatever other methods we all find mutually acceptable. In other words, if you need help figuring out a gadget or a lifeform or some planetary information for the game, you have the option of posting your questions/request for help here and any members that feel so inclined are welcome to jump in and help you figure it out/develop it.
2) You decide you want to make use of some OA content/ideas/terms, but not necessarily set it in the OA universe and/or give it an explicit OA title. In this case, the Managing Board can grant you permission to use the content without going through all the individual authors. In return we would want you to provide an attribution as described above. You mention that some ideas/terms/concepts/whatever come from/are inspired by Orion's Arm (our URL) and are used with permission. You place this attribution statement in some reasonably prominent place in your project, possibly also with a small OA logo that we can provide.
In the case of OA artwork - rather than information - we might also want an attribution to the individual artist included.
Details for all of the above TBD, but this should give you the general idea.
In either case, we would also be happy to provide links (and possibly banners/banner space and such like we are currently doing with The Oracle Fragment) on the website, our various social media platforms and wherever else seems appropriate, depending on the details of what we work out between us.
In terms of any monetary benefit you might receive from the game:
Generally speaking we have little interest in a financial stake or guaranteed financial return on the project, at least where the OAUP itself is involved. While we used to have more of a focus on money, and selling OA related stuff, and we may still dabble in that direction in the future, the overall consensus that has developed is that we prefer to just have fun with the project as a creative recreational exercise. Money is certainly needed to 'keep the lights on' but between what we make from book sales and donations from project members, we're doing satisfactorily on that score.
If the game takes off and becomes a multi-million dollar franchise, then more power to you and we'd appreciate it if you could say nice things about us when the opportunity arises - and maybe along the way a donation or two via our PayPal account, in whatever amount you deem fair, would be nice. If things shake out where you want to make some kind of direct monetary or other arrangement with a specific member or members of the OA project for assistance in creating the game (or some future/other project), then that would be between you and them, with the OAUP not involved. If you happen to contribute some EG articles or artwork to the OA project along the way - just as any other member might, we would be quite happy. If you have some specific skill set that could help us out with making the project/website better or cooler or the like - we'd also be very appreciative if you were to decide to volunteer your time and skills if the opportunity arises.
Ok, I think that about covers it and I think should also answer most or all of your questions. If I'm mistaken in that assessment or if you would like more details about anything I've said or have questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to post here and let us know.
Hope this helps,
Todd
RE: A few questions about using OA in a commercial product - jedidia - 02-21-2019
Quote:For a detailed rundown of all this, in full formal legalese, you can see our Terms and Conditions page, although it sounds like you've already read it
I have indeed, though apparently I failed to grok the most important part:
Quote:they can contact the Managing Board (Rynn, Steve, and myself are all members) and the Board can grant them permission to use the ideas/concepts/whatever.
That's great, I totally hadn't realised that. Knowing that there's a central authority to negotiate with pretty much alleviates all concerns I had.
Quote:Applying the above to what you've described so far, I see a couple of ways of approaching this. In no particular order:
1) You explicitly set the game inside the OA universe (making it OA Canon compliant as part of that), and market it as such
It would definitely take that direction, though I'm not sure about an inclusion in the title, mostly for aesthetic reasons (long titles... ugh). But that's details of minor concern for a time in the hopefully plausible mid-future... So far this thing doesn't even have a real name yet
Quote:If the game takes off and becomes a multi-million dollar franchise
Ha, I wish!
Quote:Hope this helps
Yes, this helps a lot. Thank you very much!
RE: A few questions about using OA in a commercial product - Drashner1 - 02-22-2019
(02-21-2019, 06:49 PM)jedidia Wrote: It would definitely take that direction, though I'm not sure about an inclusion in the title, mostly for aesthetic reasons (long titles... ugh). But that's details of minor concern for a time in the hopefully plausible mid-future... So far this thing doesn't even have a real name yet
No worries - I'm sure we'll figure something out if/when the time comes. My post was just to provide some representative examples with the intent of getting the general idea across. I can think of a few other options just off the top of my head and with more heads working on it and more time to work, I'm confident we can come up with something that all parties are happy with.
Todd