How to bring licensed art?

[Elizaveta Markova]

I am trying to understand how to use licensed content, for example photography, in SL. Every club has photographs on the wall. Where do they come from? I am willing to, indeed wish to, pay photographers and other creators for the right to use their work. But a typical license doesn't authorize me to sublicense Linden Labs to do whatever they please with someone else's work. How do people cope?

I'd love to hear about related issues for music. For example, do any vocal artists have rights to the karaoke tracks they sing to? How do they acquire such rights?

[Chic Aeon]

Most of what you see is "illegally" uploaded and against the TOS -- and this has always been true.   The only thing you can legally upload to SL is your own work, works you have specific rights to upload to SL from the creator or public domain works.  Creative Commons 0 is "likely OK". Again, no action is taken whether you are legal or not --- or at least I have never heard of any action being taken, that is said more correctly. 

 

You CAN of course by the rights to use photographs from  works made within SL.  I have a whole free gallery of  photography and faux paintings that you are welcome to use.   You can BUY art from galleries. All these methods are within the TOS.  

 

Taking the high road is a good thing in my estimation :D. 

 

[Elizaveta Markova]

Nice gallery and build, Chic, thanks. I've tried buying art from galleries, but there is no provenance. Except for photographs of SL itself, I suspect that in most cases the creators didn't create (nor license) anything but the prims the pictures are pasted on.

So SL is a Haven for Creators of SL-specific content like clothes and builds, and a sewer of rip-offs of ex-SL photography, music, and other media? And LL not only doesn't mind, they encourage it with license terms that make it impractical to bring legitimate content?

I've stayed away from OpenSim, much as I like the idea, because so much of the content is ripped off from SL. But if the content of SL, for media that I care about, is also ripped off, I'm losing my way. I'd like to take the high road, but I can't find it.

[Quistess Alpha]

Yeah, when's the last time you've heard about a DJ buying a streaming license for their music on (for example) Soundexchange.com? So much easier to rip from youtube illegally.

[Rowan Amore]

15 hours ago, Elizaveta Markova said:

Nice gallery and build, Chic, thanks. I've tried buying art from galleries, but there is no provenance. Except for photographs of SL itself, I suspect that in most cases the creators didn't create (nor license) anything but the prims the pictures are pasted on.

So SL is a Haven for Creators of SL-specific content like clothes and builds, and a sewer of rip-offs of ex-SL photography, music, and other media? And LL not only doesn't mind, they encourage it with license terms that make it impractical to bring legitimate content?

I've stayed away from OpenSim, much as I like the idea, because so much of the content is ripped off from SL. But if the content of SL, for media that I care about, is also ripped off, I'm losing my way. I'd like to take the high road, but I can't find it.

Unfortunately, anything available to view on the internet will be used however someone chooses to regardless of copyright.  There would have to be hundreds of thousands of lawyers sifting through millions of websites searching for stolen contents.  And that would be for just one piece of art/music/content.

LL itself would have the same problem. A team of people looking through everything uploaded by everyone to see if proper licensing was used.  The original creator is the only one able to file DMCA.   It's the same thing with creators using names like Chanel and LV in their creations.  I've seen a lot of those and unless Chanel or LV file, nothing will be done.

[Elizaveta Markova]

1 hour ago, Rowan Amore said:

LL itself would have the same problem. A team of people looking through everything uploaded by everyone to see if proper licensing was used.  The original creator is the only one able to file DMCA.   It's the same thing with creators using names like Chanel and LV in their creations.  I've seen a lot of those and unless Chanel or LV file, nothing will be done.

I don't mind that LL doesn't catch people doing the wrong thing. I mind that they make it impossible for me to do the right thing. They claim a right to do literally anything they want with anything that's uploaded. No one will license me material to upload on those terms.

[Chic Aeon]

2 hours ago, Elizaveta Markova said:

I don't mind that LL doesn't catch people doing the wrong thing. I mind that they make it impossible for me to do the right thing. They claim a right to do literally anything they want with anything that's uploaded. No one will license me material to upload on those terms.

Yes, well. Many of us weren't pleased with that BIG CHANGE back in 2013 and many websites with free textures and mesh downloads prohibits uploading their goods to SL now. It is what we have. Their platform; their choices.   We can stay or go or do our best to work around what we can and still be creative :D.   We all have the same rules.    

[Elizaveta Markova]

19 minutes ago, Chic Aeon said:

We can stay or go or do our best to work around what we can and still be creative :D.   We all have the same rules.

Except people who try to follow them play by different rules than people who ignore them with impunity. But you're right, we can bring our own work, which might be the most interesting approach, anyway.

[Doris Johnsky]

I know a sim that has a whole building full  of B&W erotics photos they sell that I know damn well aren't licensed. 

 

If they were simply on display, i'd be ok with that. These aren't

[Chic Aeon]

Even  JUST on display that is against the Terms of Service :D.