HOME | DD
Trackdancer — Copyrights in the MMDC made simple...
#copyrights #mmd #defoko #mikuhatsune
Published: 2018-05-12 23:15:21 +0000 UTC; Views: 10550; Favourites: 24; Downloads: 0
Redirect to original
Description
body div#devskin0 hr { }
Since writing my last article, I've had several interesting civil conversations about copyrights and it has become apparent that there is a lot of misunderstanding about copyright issues within the MMDC; well at least in the MMDC outside of Japan. And that's understandable as copyright issues are incredibly complex especially in an international setting. Plus with MMD, much of the resources used are derivative works anyway. So in this article, I will briefly explain the concepts to you but with the following disclaimer:
I am not a lawyer nor a law professional. I cannot and will not give legal opinions nor legal advice. Everything written here should be regarded as merely opinions and especially in my case, these are worth exactly 2 cents.
Furthermore, Trackdancer speaks for no one but himself. He doesn't set any rules for any part of the MMDC except those that he applies to himself. Furthermore, stop whining on Twitter saying that Trackdancer prohibits this that or the other. What you choose to do is your business; I could care less. I don't tell anyone what to do although I reserve the right to suggest that what you choose to be doing isn't very wise, moral or correct. Additionally, I am not "too old" to be interested in either anime or MMD. Anime and MMD have no age restrictions except in obvious areas of topical interest that are for "adults only". Finally, quit whining that I choose to use Chibi IA as my mascot; that's my choice and none of your damn business.
Well with those out of the way, let's get to the main points!
WHAT IS COPYRIGHT LAW? THE LEAST YOU NEED TO KNOW
Copyright Law protects the Intellectual Property (IP) of creators of original works. Works could be in written form, art media, photographs or digital media. Copyrights are in effect the moment a work is published or fixed in a tangible form. You cannot copyright merely an idea. The work must be in a tangible form. In the US, it is not necessary to register a work for copyrights to be in effect. It is in effect the moment the work is published or established in a tangible form.
Certain things cannot be copyright protected. For example, you cannot generally claim copyrights over a pose but it is possible to trademark a signature pose. However, you can claim copyright to pose data; just not the pose itself.
In case it is not obvious, you cannot copyright someone else's IP. So for example, you draw a picture of Mickey Mouse, you can't claim copyrights over that character. The copyrights remains with the copyrights owners of Mickey Mouse.
Copyrights are almost absolute. It gives the copyright owner the following exclusive rights (the following list is not comprehensive, just the rights to be discussed here):
COPYRIGHT LAWS IN MMD TERMS
Let's translate the rights above to MMD "rules" as people fight over these the most. This is an original model made by Digitrevx from a character design by KEI for Mirai Akari Project:
Who owns the copyrights to this model? Digitrevx, KEI or Akari Mirai Project? You don't have to guess. It's clearly written in the readme.txt: (c) Mirai Akari Project
So if you make an MMD picture using this model, who owns the copyright to the picture? Well, it probably won't be you! And if you edit this model, who owns the copyrights to that edit? It won't be you either. But this latter is a little bit more complicated, and if you really want to know, consult a lawyer.
Before that, you could rightly ask if I violated the copyrights of Mirai Akari Project by posting the picture above since I didn't get their permission to do so before hand. Well, no. I am operating in a totally legal manner because I downloaded the model from an authorized distribution source (Nico-Solid) and adhered to the model's Terms of Use as detailed in the readme.txt that accompanies the model that I read at least once. Furthermore, within the context of this article, I am using her under Fair Use guidelines.
I cover my butt by playing by the rules...
As for her Terms of Use, don't take it lightly, it was probably written by a lawyer whose first language isn't English, but is totally legal and valid. It is extremely clear what you can and cannot do with the character and the model.
In this example, the copyright issues are very, very clear. But this type of model in MMD is rather rare. The situation is usually far more complex due to the fault of the model and character below:
This of course is the Miku Append model by Tda. The model is technically, a derivative work and the character is owned by Crypton Future Media, Inc. This model is probably the most edited model in the MMDC and the one that has caused the most problems because of the "rules" and misunderstandings over the "rules". BTW, the version of the model shown here is the original release version, still in it's original packaging including the original readme.txt which has been changed in subsequent release versions. But I'll get to that in a moment.
I'm going to reproduce a part of the original readme.txt (under Fair Use guidelines) in first the original Japanese and then a verbatim copy of the Google Translate version. We are only interested in the Terms of Use.
◆使用条件・免責
・この作品はピアプロ・キャラクター・ライセンス（piapro.jp/license/pcl/summary&…
クリプトン・フューチャー・メディア株式会社のキャラクター「初音ミク・アペンド」を描いたものです。
このデータを使用する際は上記キャラクター利用のガイドラインに沿ってお使いください。
・動画・静画への利用を目的とした改造・改変はOKです。
・改造したモデルの再配布もOKですが足の輪をそのまま使用する場合はカンパニーロゴを消すか
テクスチャを「ロゴ違いテクスチャ」フォルダに入っているものと入れ替える等して再配布して下さい。
・再配布する際は改造元が分かるように明記して下さい。
・改造していないデータの再配布はNGとさせて下さい。
・このモデルの一部を別モデルに移植したり素材として使用したデータを配布するのもNGとさせて下さい。
（例・ツインテールを別のモデルに移植する ・腰のメカパーツを別のモデルに移植する 等）
配布しなければやってもいいですがその場合は必ず元が分かるように明記をお願いします。
・このデータを使用したことにより何らかのトラブルが発生した場合でも、当方は一切の責任を負いません。
Here's the translated version (raw):
◆ Terms of use · Disclaimer
· This work is based on Peer Pro · Character · License (piapro.jp/license/pcl/summary )
It depicts the character "Hatsune Miku · Append" of Krypton · Future Media Co., Ltd.
Please use this data in accordance with the character usage guidelines above.
· Modification / modification for the purpose of using for movies / still images is OK.
· Redistribution of remodeled models is OK, but if you use the foot ring as it is, you can either turn off the company logo
Please redistribute the texture by replacing the texture with the one contained in the "logo different texture" folder.
· Please redistribute it so that you can know the original source.
· Redistribution of unmodified data should be NG.
· Please do not transfer it to another model of this model or distribute the data used as the material.
(Example · Transplant the twin tail to another model · Transplant the waist mechanical parts to another model etc.)
You may do it if you do not distribute, but in that case please specify clearly so that you can understand the original.
· Even if something goes wrong due to the use of this data, we do not take any responsibility.
Here's my cleaned up version (included for discussion purposes only):
Terms of Use, Disclaimer
- This work is based on the Piapro Character License (piapro.jp/license/pcl/summary ). It depicts the character "Miku Hatsune Append" belonging to Crypton Future Media, Inc.
- Please use this data in accordance with the character usage guidelines above.
- Modification for the purposes of making videos and still images is OK.
- Redistribution of edits of the model is OK, but if you use the foot anklet, remove the Crypton company logo. Please redistribute the texture by replacing the texture with the one contained in the "ロゴ違いテクスチャ" folder.
- If you redistribute an edit of the model, please identify the original source of your edit.
- Redistribution of the original model is PROHIBITED.
- Do not take parts of this model and transplant these parts to another model (made by another party) or distribute parts of this model to be used as raw material for other models. (Example · Transplant the twin tail to another model · Transplant the waist mechanical parts to another model etc.) You may do these things if you do not redistribute your edit, but clearly indicate the sources used.
- Use at your own risk, not liable for damages or unintended consequences due to the use of this model.
Subsequent, releases of this model comes with a similar but more complex set of Terms of Use. As far as I am concerned, those are irrelevant to me as I don't use those release versions of this model (but I am aware of the differences in the terms). Further, from a legal standpoint, I am only bound to the terms of usage in the version I use and if you want to take issue with this statement, I'll be happy to see you in court and you better be prepared to be ready to pay for my legal expenses.
I am also aware, that since this model was first released, the use of the character "Miku Hatsune", is covered both by a CC-BY-NC license as well as the Piapro License if applicable. I've actually read the Piapro License - it took me a whole bloody night - in translated form as I can't read Japanese. Most of it is in Japanese legal language and pertains to Japanese Law. I am not a citizen of Japan and have zero obligations to comply with Japanese Law if I don't live in Japan, which I don't. So the Piapro License (arguably) is not applicable to me, but the CC-BY-NC license is totally applicable.
I do not know if there is or is not a formal relationship between Crypton Future Media, Inc or Tda. That's not actually important. What we all know, unless you are really stupid, is that the character depicted by the original model belongs to Crypton Future Media, Inc. This is now 2018, so the CC-BY-NC license with regards to this character is in full effect. Specifically:
CC: Creative Commons - this is basically a declaration of the type of license that governs the use of this character. It is applicable internationally.
BY: Attribution requirement - you must credit Crypton each and every time you use the character "Miku Hatsune" or other Vocaloid characters in Crypton's stable.
NC: Non-commercial use only.
As for the rest of the Terms of Use, even in its original form as reproduced, translated and re-interpreted above, the terms are pretty straight forward and easy to understand and follow. But of course, people couldn't follow simple rules so more complicated rules followed, essentially spelling out the details that were missed.
However, a good question to ask is whether or not Tda even has a right to set "rules" since he doesn't own the rights to the character? The key to this is the use of the word "data". No where is he claiming rights over ownership of the character; he is actually very specific that his rules applies to the data. Does he have legal rights over the data? I can't answer this definitively in this instance due to the character ownership complication, but I believe that most legal jurisdictions would recognize that he has certain rights over the data as the model represents "original" work that he created. Regardless, none of these rules are illegal nor unreasonable. Personally, as a decent human being, I respect his right to set rules and follow them regardless of their actual legal merits or lack thereof.
I am not a lawyer, I do MMD for fun. I respect the effort made by people like Tda, who expended their energies and skill to create such a wonderful model and then gave use of it away for free. If he wants to set a few simple, legal, rules it is merely a small obligation for me to respect them and comply with his reasonable wishes. It is that simple.
But obviously, some people in the MMDC cannot seem to bring themselves to respect the efforts and kindness of others, leading to Tda or his representatives to have to rewrite the Terms of Use, explicitly prohibiting certain practices that were noted but not spelled out in the original readme.txt.
HONESTLY THERE ARE SOME REALLY STUPID AND SELFISH PEOPLE IN THE MMDC
One of the biggest problems with Tda's rules is many people's total failure to comprehend the following rule:
- Please do not transfer it to another model of this model or distribute the data used as the material. (Example · Transplant the twin tail to another model · Transplant the waist mechanical parts to another model etc.) You may do it if you do not distribute, but in that case please specify clearly so that you can understand the original.
- Don't use parts of this model on another model not made by Tda.
- You can do this for private edits that you do not plan on redistributing. Additionally, if you show a picture of your private edit, acknowledge where the parts came from.
- Do not distribute parts taken from this model by themselves. This BTW, includes the model's head or body parts; specifically, for the benefit of the numb nuts, you can't distribute the model as a base.
OTHER PEOPLE'S MODEL AND EDITS ARE NOT A SOURCE FOR YOUR EDITS
Let me put this concept out there: I respect the work of model editors in the same manner that I respect the work of original model makers.
I am not a big fan of edits made by DA model editors. 99% of the time, any model edit I download from DA will need further work to fix their functionality. This is a big waste of time. With Japanese edits like the Tda/Defoko model at the top of this article, I need to do nothing other than to translate the labels into English. In the case of the model above, that wasn't even necessary. She comes ready to use straight out of the package. Her physics and facials are perfect. The model is by VK and can be downloaded from Bowlroll: (seiga.nicovideo.jp/seiga/im781… )
The whole point I am trying to make though is that I do not treat other people's work as sources of spare parts for model edits. I use them for the purposes that they were made: to make pictures, videos or to illustrate articles like this one. In the rare instances that I make model edits, if I base my edits on other people's work, I contact them to seek permission first. There's a reason for this; at least with two model edits that I made, these were actually essentially just improvements over an existing work. One was distributed publicly with the permission of the original model editor and the other model was kept private.
But the underlying principle is that I download model edits because I like the way they look. Why change them? Plus it is extremely disrespectful to just treat them as part sources for your own work. There's plenty of parts available for MMD edits all over DA (and Bowlroll), just go get them for yourself.
BUT I HAVE THE RIGHT TO DO THIS BECAUSE IT IS FAIR USE...
I have had a week long civil discussion with a gentleman from a South American country who loves dinosaurs. He wanted to rip a model from a commercial game to use for an educational project but ran into a problem. The model data in question was encrypted by the game company, making it essentially impossible to use. The gentleman, claimed that this was unfair as it violated his Fair Use rights.
Honestly, I had to bang my head against a wall a couple of times, but his example highlights some fundamental misunderstanding about what is Fair Use. First of all, there is no uniform rule about what exactly constitutes the Fair Use of other people's IP. Fair Use is treated on a case-by-case basis.
Furthermore:
So what is Fair Use? If you want to know more, read this: fairuse.stanford.edu/overview/…
Even if you claim Fair Use over a work you produced, that doesn't stop the copyright owner from suing you over your use of their IP if they choose to dispute your interpretation of Fair Use. Likewise, they could just issue a DMCA complaint against your work and have it removed and you will have to sue them to prove your Fair Use claim is correct.
Incidentally, if you do rip a model out of a commercial game, you most likely will be in breach of the EULA, in which case, the owner of the IP could just out right revoke your rights to use their product even if you paid for the game. When you purchase a computer game, all you are really buying is a license to play the game, not ownership over any part of the game. You have no Fair Use arguments with regards to a license as the terms of the license will generally be clearly indicated in the EULA. Either you agree with the terms and install the product or you disagree and the product does not get installed.
WARNING: THE JAPANESE MMDC INTERPRETATION OF COPYRIGHTS AND RULES AREN'T THE SAME AS OURS
Japan has its own Copyright Laws and customs. They may bear some similarities to ours but beware of especially cultural interpretations of those laws and especially their modelers' and model editors' rules. I am not going to waste my time nor yours to discuss the legalities behind their laws and rules with a single exception which I will revisit below. Suffice to say, I've read most of their readme.txt and for the most part they are compliant with International provisions as permitted with copyright related matters. The Tda rules reproduced above is a good example. Nothing in there is illegal.
The bottomline is that you should read the readme.txt. Translate it if necessary; they are under no obligations to provide an English translation. If you agree with them fine, if you don't, just delete the model. You have no rights here to whine or especially, do whatever you like.
Additionally, Japan has a very structured society. Japanese individuals are raised from a very early age to comply with a strictly formal society. Terms like "san", "chan", "sempai", "sensei", and customs like not addressing anyone but close associates by their given names are not just quaint customs; they are core components of a society where everything has a role or place. Much of it is "alien" to us; even if we watch tons of anime, unless you've lived and worked there, the fine nuances of their culture will be missed by "foreigners".
Fundamental to their culture are rules of behavior and respect. Respect is a rather rare commodity outside of Japan and especially, it seems, here in the DA MMDC. This is not the case in Japan. There, in Japan, respect is a core component of their culture and society. If we are to be allowed to continue to use their MMD resources, we have no options but to respect and play by their interpretations of the rules. Honestly, its not hard and most of their rules are straightforward, legal and perfectly reasonable.
Which all means, if you use Japanese made models or model edits, respect the rules that comes with them or if you don't agree, don't use them. However, specifically, in my case, I will not use any Japanese resource that places a restriction of use if I am not Japanese. I personally think this is total bullshit; also under US Laws it is pure discrimination and I simply will not support xenophobic racist idiots. BTW, I just banned an idiot who posted a comment on one of my YT videos simply because they used the screen name "Adolf Hitler". I will ban any xenophobic racist idiot regardless of race or national origin.
Currently, one of the big issues with the Japanese MMDC with the rest of us is the use of MMD model in VRChat. To these Japanese modelers, their understanding is that they made their models specifically and only for MMD. But they are really getting pissed that people have taken it upon themselves to assume that they can port these models to use in this apparently popular social online game. Well, you can't as you don't have permission to do so unless the readme.txt expressedly allows for this type of usage.
Let me explain this in legal terms. Copyright owners have every right to restrict derivative use of their works. If a permission has not been given or mentioned, you cannot assume that what you want to do is allowed. MMD models are implicitly and specifically issued for use with MMD. What this means is that if they are issued for use with MMD, they can only be used for MMD. No buts, no ifs.
Very simple concept, but apparently this seems to have eluded the thinking of a good number of people and upsetting a very important group of people: the very people that makes these wonderful resources available for free. Not a wise thing to do, methinks.
I am going to leave the last words in this article to VK who made the Defoko edit above. It is a passage that I extracted from his English version of the readme.txt that comes with the model. I am not going to comment about it; it stands on it's own merits. Just read it and think about what he is saying:
I'd like people to understand how much time, effort and skill it takes to make high-quality 3d assets. Not that my edits are amazing or anything. I still have a long way to go.
What I'm trying to say is, most people don't have much free time and are busy with their jobs and lives. Making 3D assets is a full-time paid job, where artists are usually paid by the hour,
Most MMD creators do this for free and share their work so that everyone can enjoy it. If it wasn't for those people, we wouldn't have all of these great things.
The least we can do in return is to appreciate their efforts and respect their wishes.
Related content
Comments: 37
I think it's also extremely important for people to separate the character from the model in terms of "rights". In other words: The model is the property of the modeller. The character is the property of the copyright holder (assuming we are talking about a character from a copyrighted franchise)
For example, the character Miku Hatsune is owned and copyrighted by Crypton. The MMD model of her, or derivative, is the work of the modeller. The person who made the model has the right to use, edit, distribute (or end distribution of) of the model. They can NOT, however, stop the use, edit and/or distribution/end of distribution of the character in other works. Only Crypton can legally stop that (or more specifically, file a lawsuit to stop it since they own the copyright of the character). A person who makes a model of a copyrighted character can do whatever they want with their model and can make rules that others who use the model must adhere to.
For example, if I make a Luka model, I can tell people "you CAN NOT use this model in 18+ works". The rule only applies to my model, not the character. If someone else makes a model of Luka and specifically says "you CAN use her in 18+ works" I can't stop them.
To put this in the simplest way possible:
I cannot stop people from using Luka's character in 18+ works because I do not own Luka. Crypton does. Only Crypton can make rules regarding usage of the character. If Crypton were to make a rule that forbade MMD users to use Luka in 18+ works, that would apply to ALL models of Luka. The example I used about not being allowed to use Luka in 18+ works only applies to the model I made of her.
Let me repeat: the rule of "you CAN NOT use this model in 18+ works" only applies to my Luka model. Not the character herself. Not the other MMD Luka models (unless the ReadMe of the other models say otherwise; this is why you should always consult the ReadMes before model usage. Every ReadMe is different).
Now I think most people in the MMDC probably know this already, but I am always amazed at the amount of stupid people out there who get upset because they can't use a certain model for certain things ("THIS MODELLER SAYS I CAN'T USE THEIR LUKA MODEL IN R18 WORKS THIS IS SO STUPID THEY DON'T OWN THE CHARACTER I CAN DO WHATEVER I WANT WITH THIS MODEL BECAUSE YOU DON'T OWN LUKA")
The same can also be applied with fanart and fanfiction. You don't own the characters or series, but you DO own the writing/drawing itself. And you can go after people who steal your art/writing because you DID do the writing/drawing and "own" that, even if you don't own the characters.
I would go deeper into this but I need to confess, the world of copyright heavily confuses me.
👍: 1 ⏩: 0
TDA style model was clearly declared again that donation and donation etc was prohibited.
ch.nicovideo.jp/narupajin/blom…
Can DA MMDC keep this agreement?
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
It's hard when people don't really understand even the basic provisions of Copyright Laws.
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
This is very thought out and well worded, well done on this entry.
I second the comment on "unless you've lived and worked there, the fine nuances of their culture will be missed by "foreigners", as someone who has physically visited various countries around the world and have also been expected to learn about cultural sensitivities, knows that your statement right there is more factual than just typed words.
Even body language is read differently in other countries, the Philippines being one of those countries and in South Korea, staring is actually considered intimidating. Rustling someone's hair in Thailand or Vietnam is an extremely terrible thing to do and you'll be full on beaten up if you leave a tip at a restaurant in Portugal. With all that in consideration it comes to no surprise on the JMMD community's overall reaction to how MMD is handled here in the states. Though in that same regard it's next near impossible to know about Copyright and everything tied to it unless you went forth and did the research if you are someone born and raised in the states. Even in my highschool Government education class we never even touched the topic of Copyright. It wasn't until I took a college level Multimedia Class was Copyright even a remote topic but that was inside the Adobe art book itself.
Speaking of art books, if there are those who are interested in learning the do's and don't of the art field there is a college book called "Adobe Design Collection Revealed - Creative Cloud" this book outlines not only ways to understand how to use art programs by Adobe but also goes over in detail about how Copyright works and everything someone in the Graphics Design/Multimedia fields needs to know.
Now for those who do not want to purchase/rent the book the best source after that is DeviantART itself which goes over in great detail how Copyright, DMCA, Creative Commons, and Fair Use works. Also, for those who don't like reading, DeviantART also offers a link the a video provided by the Creative Commons website that goes over all these components to listen to and view. To make things simple though I'll just link the Youtube video of that video here: youtu.be/q0VzUigrb_g
Also, for anyone else concerned about things like art theft and how to keep their work out of the accusation of art theft, DA has created a well made set of articles explaining all of that here: The Art Theft Discussion
I hope this helps at all, you've pretty much gone over all the stuff that people will care about in a simple view. Though I hope what I've provided will help others ICO seeing things in a broader light and hopefully sink in what you're trying to explain here. Who knows? Maybe a visual aid might help a little LoL.
👍: 1 ⏩: 1
Hmmm... Android doesn't have the option to feature this comment. Will do that the next time I'm on my laptop!
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Well that's odd? I'm viewing it just fine on my Android. XD
Maybe it's the model, I'm using MotoZ and the DA app.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
I uninstalled the app as it wasn't that useful...
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
You sure both gmod and sfm community had to deal with this as well?
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
This article is about the MMDC only.
I have zero knowledge about gmod or sfm: no idea what they are at all.
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
Ok, so I have the TdaPublic Security Sec 9_Ver1.01 (bowlroll.net/file/20086 )
It appears the same as the first picture shown except, hair and some textures make it Teto..
Do we have an edit of an edit? (change hair and textures about an hour to convert) if that!
Technology has advanced since the release of the MMD program, VR, Unity ect.. are related venues.
The read_me text seems to limit the information of the item used in/for MMD.
Might there be trouble down the road for copyrights when items get used in other formats? (Although MMD related)
There was a time when the big problem was trying to use shaders on Lat models, now all this...
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Essentially, this version of Defoko is another one in the series of Tda Public Security Sec 9 models. To be fair, it would have taken VK more than just an hour to convert; he put quite a lot of work into the Defoko version. But it's a nice addition to the series, especially in light of the recent live action movie version of "Ghost in the Shell".
Yeah, the tech world got a lot more complicated since 2008. LOL
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
No disrespect to VK for the work on creating this model. Time vested in editing is hard to measure.
Like to add to my collection
The MMDC seems to be based on guidelines where a person can read a phrase or sentence and yet interpret a different result.
Difficult to police something based on worldwide participants with different cultures.
Places like DA, Bowlroll, Nico, YouTube, ect.. you create an account to gain access to its features.
You play nice and all is good. Step out of line and you get kicked to the curb.
They are not perfect on controlling the activities of everyone, but consistent with enforcement.
Now login to your MMDC account to gain access? Know the rules and play nice?
Q: could this be a valid direction on keeping the peace in the MMDC?
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
The MMDC isn't exactly an organization. So who would administer the system? More importantly, why would anyone want the "system" organized? In some ways, isn't MMD a pure form of "Free Speech" or at least "Freedom of Expression"? In which case, if it does get "organized", who's going to get to set the rules?
At the moment, imperfect though it may be, the MMDC is self-policing. Personally, I wouldn't want to see this changed.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
I would not think anyone would accept being administer to the MMDC.
Freedom?
I guess I fall into the "really stupid" crowd
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Nah, you wouldn't fall into that category by a long shot. But given all the "drama" in the MMDC, just the idea of having it be "adminstered" makes me balk.
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
I know this is pretty off-topic, but I was wondering if there was anything pertaining to MMD videos and bitcurrency. After my YouTube channel went down, I was advised to check out one "DTube". It sounds interesting, but it sounds like there's something about bitcoins involved, and I don't know if there's options to shut off bitcoin-gain or not, and if there isn't, I may be out of luck. Worse yet is that I don't know anything about bitcoins, aside from how people have tried to scam others off of them and that their stock value plummeted last year.
So, yeah. I don't know. MMD and Bitcoin (or similar cryptocurrencies).
👍: 0 ⏩: 2
Hey youhow are that guy who lost his YouTube account?!?
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
Honestly, I know nothing about bitcoin other than to steer clear of them.
👍: 0 ⏩: 2
Cryto currency is bad? I have an account on d tube
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
According to what I have read, people who really know about financial matters urge caution with regards to crypto currencies.
Personally, I don't know much about them nor do I have any incentives to acquire any. So simply, I steer clear of them.
What others choose to do with regards to crypto currencies is their business.
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
Very well then. Thank you.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
So you are that guy!
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
What; me? Dave? Yeah. My channel was terminated 11 days ago. But let's try not to derail the subject here.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Im actually that Macronicus guy.
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
Once again i agree with everything that i have just read
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Hope you don't mind if I clarify some things:
If you make a licensed derivative work (which is basically, making an edit that doesn't break the rules), you *do* have copyright on it.
In order to make a derivative work of a derivative work, you need the permission of all relevant license holders. For example, if I make an edit of, oh I dunno, Yamamoto's Tda Teto, I need the permission of both Yamamoto and Tda. And, of course, since Tda made an edit of Crpyton's copright-- Miku-- then I need Crypton's permission as well. That's the main point to these rules: they establish permissions for licensed use. (If I was going to make a non-Miku edit of Tda's stuff, I wouldn't need Crypton's permission, because I'm no longer infringing on their copyright. And if I was to make something solely out of Yamamoto's original work, that wasn't based on something by Tda, then I wouldn't need Tda's permission.)
I don't think it's implicit that MMD models are licensed only for use with MMD. This is going to depend on the exact wording of the rules. Some say, you can make .pmx files, some just say you can edit. 'Edit' isn't very specific, but I don't think there are any judges that would say that meant only for MMD. Editors and modellers that don't want their works used in other applications (why they feel that way, I haven't the faintest) should probably take this as a learning opportunity and change their future licensing practices; but it's kind of bullshit to try to rewrite rules, especially after people have put some work into their conversions. (Not that most of these people care too much about their rules anyways, but....) It's kind of like releasing CC-0: once you do it, that's it. There's no going back, no changing your mind.
Copyright isn't too different from nation to nation, because almost every nation has signed onto the Berne convention which establishes international standards for IP. In the US, we signed on relatively late, and there was a funny thing where, for a short period, Escher's works were out of copyright, and then after we signed, they magically re-entered copyright due to longer terms associated with the convention. (How long has Escher been dead now?)
👍: 0 ⏩: 2
I don't think it's implicit that MMD models are licensed only for use with MMD
With regards to this remark, and only applicable here, I am making the following argument, based on my work experiences in Asia.
First off, on the surface, when I first started working in Asia, things did not seem too different from what we would experience here. But when I literally went into the backstreets (which I had to do as a part of my duties as our sub-contractors' workshops were literally there), the way things were done had some significant and subtle or in some cases not so subtle, differences. On a social level, there were certain conventions, expectations, modes of behaviour, etc. that were total alien, when I first came into contact with them. It is like stepping into a time machine and going back a century of more in time.
I'll give you an example of this type of behavior. I visited the workshop of one of our carpenters. It was an old post-war building; really a converted shop. It would not comply with OSHA standards by any stretch. When I first visited (and subsequently as well), first they were happy (as in honored) to receive my visit although what I was doing would be totally routine over here. Secondly, they specially brewed and insist that I take tea with them before getting down to business. Imagine something like that happening over here. Never in a million years! Plus, although they had access to power and modern tools, for some tasks, they still preferred to use some tools or methods that are centuries old. Plus they took pride in their work, something that can be hard to find over here in the West.
When I looked into some of the Twitter threads on this topic, the contextual flavor of the arguments struck me as being similar to my backstreet experiences. As a group, if you take away the hitech veneer from the Japanese MMDC, what you might find, in terms of their mode of thoughts would not be unfamiliar to a samurai from the pre-Meiji period or at the very least about a century back. It's a thinking process that seems to be ingrained into their culture. So in this context, disrespecting the intentions of the modeler would to them be insulting behavior.
So, and you would rightly argue, how would we know what their intentions are if they don't write it down? Well this is another symptom of the differences between their culture and ours. Easy way to explain this is "group thought" or "group norms" and theirs happen to be very alien to us, just as perhaps our society that places a premium of individuality could in some ways be alien to them. After all, some of them actually believe their models have been ingrained with some time of life force or sentience. To us, "like how so"? It's just data. But if we stop to think for a moment that some of these same individuals refers to their models as "daughters", there's definitely a different perception of the world going on. In this light, I think this difference in culture and thought process is a wonderful thing. It makes me want to learn more about the Japanese.
To sum up; my argument is that, in their way of thinking, if they made something specifically for "this", then their cultural perception is that, "that thing" could only be used for "that purpose". For them it is so "obvious" that it doesn't need to be stated; but then for us, it does need to be stated. Totally polar POVs, but in a sense, theirs is equally valid, but you really need to put yourself into their mindset for a moment to see this.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Well, there are kind of two different issues, one legal and one social. As usual
From a social perspective, it is certainly appropriate for someone to send a letter to someone and say, "You know, I didn't intend what I made to be used for that purpose. Could you please refrain?" And the polite thing to do here would be to listen to their request. The thing is, that politeness needs to go both ways; it would be perfectly appropriate to respond, "I wish I had known that earlier! I have already performed quite a bit of work here. Considering that, would you make an exception for me?" The duty to respond respectfully to the first request is the same as the duty to respond respectfully to the second request. It absolutely is best for us to work from this perspective of kindness and decency, rather than legality, but it requires all of us to adopt the attitude and to throw away our ideas of our own personal rights.
(This is why this entire subject is so irritating-- everyone is hung up on rules, making them or breaking them, and the way that we actually treat each other as people is ignored. This isn't that surprising, considering how young many people involved in MMD are, see en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawrence… . And, yes, young especially on the Western side, and, yes, I think there's a sense of "customer is always right" entitlement that's getting way out-of-control in the US and a few other places as well.)
You mention visiting carpenters, that were presumably doing some work for you. Let's say they made you a table, and you used it as a place to draw. If that carpenter came to your home and said, "Oh! I made that as a dining table!" would it matter? If the carpenter expected you to use that table in a certain way, he or she should have let you know before you bought it. And just as it would be best for you to respect the carpenter's wishes regarding the table, it would also be best for the carpenter to respect your wishes regarding the table. There was a miscommunication, that's okay, live and learn for next time. The carpenter is justified in asking that you change your use. But what makes it "asking" and not "demanding" is that you're justified in refusing.
Now, of course, it's a different question from a legal standpoint, and this post seems to be about the legal standpoint. There are implicit understandings even in legal matters, especially in informal environments like MMD, and a judge would have to use his or her judgment about some potential questions, and community customs matter even in law. But the exact wording of permissions matters much, much more. If I had written about a model, "You can use and only use this to make videos," I don't believe a judge would find that I had any standing if I brought suit because somebody used it to make a video using different software than I had anticipated. Whether that software was MMM or Unity or whatever. Whereas if I wrote, "You can use and only use this to make videos using MMD software," it would be a different story.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
I don't disagree with your entire line of thinking. All I am saying is that "the other side" of the equation may be seeing things from a different perspective and we should be aware that this might be the case. And yes, it should be a two-way street. They need to be aware we might be coming from this from a different POV and make allowances (and provisions if they insist on being tunnel-visioned with their works).
In all my times with MMD, I have never had a "legal" issue, simply because I follow the requests made in Readme.txt. And if in doubt, I ask or use something else. Like I keep saying, this is all for fun and honestly, I couldn't be bothered with the drama or even making a "real" effort. I just want to relax, unwind and not get into a huff over silly stuff and deal with other people's stupidity, no matter from which side of the equation.
Talking about those carpenters. One time I had them build a replica of an American chuck wagon for a US corporation's sponsored event. That was a real experience. There were no measurements of one to be had anywhere, so I ended up scaling one up using dividers from photos of one in a history book from the public library. Then the thing was longer than the shop so had to be built in pieces, transported to the venue and assembled plus NO ONE, ANYWHERE, in that city knew how to build the wheels. Cartwrights simply do not exist anymore and the technology to build structurally sound wooden wheels is lost technology. We ended up making mock wheels (a challenge in itself) and propping the wagon up on stands - it had to be structurally strong enough to support the weight of the models and starlets hired by the corporation to grace the event. Plus, no horses - the only horses to be had were the ones that ran around the race course and they were the wrong type of horse. It was a really interesting project, to say the least!
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
The thing about "only for MMD" i don't get is, don't they just mean that you can't convert the model data to use in a different application.
I like to use the models in MocuMocuDance, were i can see them dance in VR, they become so life like, smiling, blinking, waves and winks at you.
MocuMocuDance loads pmx and vmd files directly, there is no change in the existing data. It's no different then loading the models or motions in PMXe or MikuMikuDance or MikuMikuMoving. I can't see the harm in that, the models are used "as intended" for motions. You can't edit the models or motions in MocuMocuDance, it's simply a MikuMikuDance VR Player, and it's freaking awesome.
And MocuMocuDance makes it a lot easier to find and see errors on a model.
This is an example video using MocuMocuDance. youtu.be/74QSyA2ppJQ
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
I suppose it depends on the exact wording, but if somebody wrote, "For MMD only, " I think that'd mean exactly what it says-- for use in MMD.exe only. Which, yeah, would kind of leave Mocu or MMM in the dust.
Which seems silly to me. But then, all of these rules seem silly to me. I don't know why people make rules like that in the first place.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
I just knew this whole VR thing is simply the whole stereo-vision tech from the 1940s-1950s repackaged... LOL
I still have my grandfather's, I don't remember what the device is called but it's similar to VR goggles, and it works with slides on a disc. The results are remarkable, the 3D stereo scope experience is still stunning even with color slides that have faded with time. Looking through those lens is like stepping into a time machine now.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Might it be this old fellow you are referring to ? en.wikipedia.org/wiki/View-Mas… .
I remember using that one back in the day the red one, but i never had one my self.
If you have a 5" smartphone and a google cardboard, you can see that video i posted in 3D.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
That's exactly it, but the one I have dates back to probably the mid 1950s and actually still works.
I can't duplicate what it shows but the view through it is still amazing even with the faded slides.
Plus it's solar powered LOL. You have to hold it up to the sun or strong light source to see the imagery.
The collection of slides include landmark scenes from around the world including views from Europe around that time period plus Disney Land at about the time it first opened. Also the World Fair Expo. Really remarkable views from that era.
👍: 0 ⏩: 0