PDA

View Full Version : Legal Issue???



sukEEt
January 30th, 2015, 19:10
I will be running a Mutants and Masterminds 3e game soon on FG and I am setting it in Berlin Germany, where I am living, now. What are the legal issues of pulling images off of google maps and editing a grid onto them to play directly onto a streetview map? I have already made a few and would like to post them on the forums also, but am hesitant to do so. Legal or nor, they look awesme ... sukEEt ...

Trenloe
January 30th, 2015, 19:20
If you posted one or two publicly and if they didn't show lots of the map then that *might* be covered by fair use - remember to include the relevant copyright statement/s. Beyond that, probably not. Read the legal stuff here: https://www.google.com/permissions/geoguidelines.html

Valarian
January 30th, 2015, 19:25
You could post the link to the Google map instead of the image. That would probably be fine :)

sukEEt
January 30th, 2015, 19:26
If you posted one or two publicly and if they didn't show lots of the map then that *might* be covered by fair use - remember to include the relevant copyright statement/s. Beyond that, probably not. Read the legal stuff here: https://www.google.com/permissions/geoguidelines.html

Thanks Trenloe, you are always there with the knowledge-bomb ... it is a shame, the maps look pretty ding-dang cool for 30 seconds worth of editing ... especially when you want to play a game in your home town ... maybe I will just make a set of instructions for the "theoretical" use of these particular maps for people to play around with.

Thanks again Mr. T

Trenloe
January 30th, 2015, 19:26
Also look at the "Can I alter your imagery for my project" - adding a fine grid *might* be OK as that isn't changing the underlying imagery.

sukEEt
January 30th, 2015, 19:28
You could post the link to the Google map instead of the image. That would probably be fine :)

thanks for the advice, but i have to edit it a bit to put a grid and emphasize the play-area ... i guess it will just be a personal use set of maps ...

sukEEt
January 30th, 2015, 19:30
Also look at the "Can I alter your imagery for my project" - adding a fine grid *might* be OK as that isn't changing the underlying imagery.

I also have to enhance the image to make it a bit clearer ... i also enhance the colors so as to make it look more like comic book colors ... meh, why can't stuff like that just be free with no strings ...

damned
January 30th, 2015, 21:36
meh!
fair use would apply in this situation if this was for your use in your own games and the maps were not for commercial or wide spread distribution.

the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes; the purpose of the use is for hobby with a target audience of 6 persons
the nature of the copyrighted work; the work is a publicly accessible work without any access restrictions or cost
the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and the amount of work you are copying is all but infinitesimal
the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work. there is no commercial impact on either google or its suppliers

Trenloe
January 30th, 2015, 21:39
That might well be (maybe), but the restrictions in altering images was the show stopper for sukEEt in the end.

damned
January 30th, 2015, 22:20
yes - but i dont think that googles restrictions can over rule copyright law.
google are happy for you to use the images so long as all copyright notices are included.
they dont want you altering the images because it contains their notice and logo and it would then appear that altered image was googles.
if you go along with all googles guidelines you can just use the work.

if you dont go along with googles guidelines then you would be subject to copyright but fair use case law also allows for the using and altering of other peoples images.
an example: https://whatisfairuse.blogspot.com.au/2008/02/blanch-v-koons-fair-use-of-copyrighted.html

IANAL (or a coder) but I dont believe that the OPs use of altered images in his own campaign could constitute a breach of copyright.

Trenloe
January 30th, 2015, 22:24
IANAL (or a coder) but I dont believe that the OPs use of altered images in his own campaign could constitute a breach of copyright.
The OP was asking about the legalities of posting the altered images publicly on the forums, not about using them in their own campaign.

damned
January 30th, 2015, 23:38
my bad - you are right - he does want to post them on a forum.
personally i would think it would be ok if he did strip the google logos and watermarks but stated that the images were derived from google maps.
but its not my website t o take that risk with so its probably best he doesnt post them - even though i think it would pass fair use interpretations.
other points suggest that because the data represented is factual information that is publicly available - you can see these streets with your own eyes etc - that it is not possible to protect via copyright - although the whole body of work is
another suggests that the scale of the copying (minute) means it would not even get as far as having to prove fair use - any claim would be dismissed outright...

but these are all interpretations and based on individual cases...

sukEEt
January 31st, 2015, 14:18
dang guys, yall are great ... thanks for all the info! I won't post them on the forum, but will definitely use them ... I found I can tweak the colors to make them look like a comic book so they will fit well with my MM3 campaign ... hehe

damned
January 31st, 2015, 15:00
you could post a screenshot from your game :)


https://www.fg-con.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/fg-con-6-150-5.jpg (https://www.fg-con.com/events/)
FG Con 6 – April 17-19th 2015 - register at www.fg-con.com (https://www.fg-con.com/) for all the latest info.

sukEEt
January 31st, 2015, 20:16
its a few months away, but sure thing ... how do i do that, can you capture the image with pring screen?

Trenloe
January 31st, 2015, 21:40
how do i do that, can you capture the image with pring screen?
Press the "Print Screen" (sometimes PrtScn or something similar) on your keyboard, Fantasy Grounds will automatically put a .PNG graphics file of the FG screen in your <FG App Data> directory. You can press it multiple times, your previous screen captures won't be overwritten.

damned
January 31st, 2015, 23:09
Press the "Print Screen" (sometimes PrtScn or something similar) on your keyboard, Fantasy Grounds will automatically put a .PNG graphics file of the FG screen in your <FG App Data> directory. You can press it multiple times, your previous screen captures won't be overwritten.

Ha! I was wondering where those screenshot files came from!

suKEET - when you upload your screenshot - convert it to JPG first - it will be a much lighter file that way...


https://www.fg-con.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/fg-con-6-150-1.jpg (https://www.fg-con.com/events/)
FG Con 6 – April 17-19th 2015 - register at www.fg-con.com (https://www.fg-con.com/) for all the latest info.

Nylanfs
February 1st, 2015, 02:07
Or just run it through scriptPNG