Joho the Blog: What you may draw

October 27, 2007

What you may draw

Microsoft has clarified its rules for how you may use its game software to create animated movies (machinima). There's excellent coverage and discussion of this at Law of the Game. The rules, which are written in remarkably accessible language, include the following restriction:

You can’t use Game Content to create pornographic or obscene Items, or anything that contains vulgar, racist, hateful, or otherwise objectionable content. We can’t help you much here except to say that just like the old saying goes, you know it when you see it.

I am so not a lawyer, but at first glance, this seems like Adobe saying you are not permitted to use Photoshop to create pornographic images, or possibly like buying a sketchpad in an art store that says you may not use it to draw sexually explicit pictures. But there is a difference: Machinima uses graphic elements created by the game company. Even if you're using those elements essentially as clip art, the company has (apparently) the right to keep you from publishing its content in configurations it finds objectionable.

I say if Spartan-117 wants to get it on with Lord Terrence Hood, and if they want to bring in Daffy Duck for a threesome, and you're not making money off the machinima that shows all the high-res clanking, well, that's the price creators pay for successfully contributing to our culture. But, apparently I'm wrong. [Tags: machinima copyright microsoft ]

Posted by D. Weinberger at October 27, 2007 09:53 AM

Comments

Machinima is the "cultural artifact"-equivalent of the social silos - there's widespread reining in of freedoms we expect from truly open spaces through Terms of Service rules in the silos as well.

Posted by: Claus | October 27, 2007 10:34 AM

No doubt Mattel prohibits copulation between Barbie and Ken, or at least any photography of such (cf Barbie in a Blender, qv Team America).

If you're an organisation used to the idea of being an absolute dictator over the use of your products, why not stipulate the way in which your customers may use or not use your products?

Such are the conceits spawned by those IP maximalists with big litigation budgets.

At the end of the day...

If you rent their IP, it's still theirs and they can control its use.

If you buy their IP, it's wholly and entirely yours to control and do what you want.

EXCEPT, in both cases, rights to life, privacy, and truth must be protected.

It is not for Microsoft to determine what use jeopardises life (incites violence), violates privacy, or impairs truth, but for courts to determine. Microsoft's control ends the moment the purchase completes. And no, they can't slip in a sneaky contract they pretend you agree to by dint of sale.

Of course, until they're abolished, copyright and patent do give MS unethical privileges.

Back to man and his castle, if you think MS shouldn't get to decide how you use their product, you know where to tell them to stick their terms and conditions - don't you?

Posted by: Crosbie Fitch | October 27, 2007 12:47 PM

Since it reads "you can't..." rather than "you may not..." the implication is that it is impossible. You would think that Microsoft's lawyers would know the difference.

Of course this site's "Guidelines for Commenting" say "Basically, you can say what you want." so I guess David is using the same lawyers.

Posted by: mark | October 28, 2007 12:14 PM

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