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There seems to be a lot of issues with custom pets lately, especially Faux, and I just wanted to address a few things:
If you base your design on copyrighted materials it MUST be submitted to the Copyright Forum.
The forum is here, the rules are here, and a quick FAQ is here.
If your pet is found to violate copyright rules it will be removed, and those complicit in it's creation will be punished.
This means if you asked for a copyrighted design, and the artist gave it to you, you are both in trouble.
If you did not know your pet was a copyright issue (and you did not ask it to be based on something copyrighted) then you will not be in trouble - only the artist will be.
No user can demand another user give them a Faux they have claimed.
I have been very alarmed to hear that some artists have been demanding that users "give back" a design they have claimed because they wanted it for themselves. This is not allowed, and directly violates the Terms of Service of this website. Anyone who is reported for such behaviour will be swiftly punished.
Custom Pets cannot have backgrounds.
This means things such as scenery or imagery that is not directly tied to the pet - such as skies and landscape.
If you think you have a pet that is a copyright risk, please PM me as soon as possible so we can arrange how to address the problem. Users who do so are not at risk of losing their pet if it can be altered sufficiently, or their custom item if it cannot be.
If you have seen a pet that you believe to be a copyright risk, please PM me. Your report will be confidential.
Thank you everyone and I hope you all have a good week =)
Posted by Eve
(#2775) on Sun Aug 23, 2015 9:12pm
- Gone x2
(#550)
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Posted on: Sun Aug 23, 2015 9:31pm
In the event that both the artist and the recipient did not know of copyright material, what happens?
- Ghost n Daffu
(#209)
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Posted on: Sun Aug 23, 2015 9:47pm
What if a user commissions an artist claiming to have permission from the copyright holder, or that the character in question belongs to them? While it'll be obvious about big name characters, lesser known characters will be harder for artists to catch. Will the artist getting in trouble be circumstantial or will it be a 'that's not excuse' case? - Ghost
- Eve
(#2775)
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Posted on: Sun Aug 23, 2015 9:55pm
Opaline Dragon (#550) - In that case then the priority will be getting the pet fixed, but it's very unusual for both parties to be unaware of potential issues. That isn't to say it doesn't happen, so it would have to be judged on a case-by-case basis.
Ghost and Jazz (#209) - The copyright owner needs to send a statement to [email protected] that they transfer full copyright to the character to us. They would not be able to use the character at all after that as it would be sole property of Aywas. As you can imagine, most people aren't going to do that, but for legal purposes it is the only way we would be able to do it.
Harder to catch characters are just as liable as if you submitted something that everyone would recognise - it might take longer for us to catch it, but you will still have the potential to lose the custom and face further reprimand if we do find it before you (general) report it to us.
- Ghost n Daffu
(#209)
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Posted on: Sun Aug 23, 2015 10:01pm
No no, that's not what I meant. I meant it states that the artist who does the design can get in trouble as well as the user who knowingly makes it. What if the artist doesn't know? We can't know every copyright character. Also, I thought it was just the rights to the design, not the character, that the site needed? - Ghost Eveglori (#2775)
- Honey
(#25910)
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Posted on: Sun Aug 23, 2015 10:13pm
I wouldn't know if mine are copyright risks. I'm just not that savvy about anything enough to pick up on copyright issues unless it's like, Pokemon. >.>
- Eve
(#2775)
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Posted on: Sun Aug 23, 2015 10:17pm
Ghost and Jazz (#209) - Oh! I see what you mean =) Then yes, it would be case by case. Obviously we're not going to go around thwacking people with hammers going "YOU SHOULD HAVE KNOWN", but it will all have to be carefully looked into XD
My apologies, I should have said "character design" - but the result is sadly still the same, they would not be able to use that character design. It's one of those unfortunate "I have to do this so you can't sue me later" things, if you catch my drift.
- Frog
(#55178)
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Posted on: Sun Aug 23, 2015 10:21pm
Still wondering why small details and characteristics of popular or even more obscure characters is such an issue. Fan art is made everyday of such copyrighted materials and there are ways of.crediting the owners under usage. Correct me if I am wrong?
- InvertSilhouette
(#51851)
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Posted on: Sun Aug 23, 2015 10:21pm
On a somewhat similar note, are original characters / characters the commissioner or artist themselves made up, allowed? Assuming it is the artist themselves or said commissioner who is making the custom.
- Ghost n Daffu
(#209)
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Posted on: Sun Aug 23, 2015 10:22pm
Eveglori (#2775) - Yeah, I just had to be clear we weren't handing over full rights ( and IP rights ) of any personal characters to the site when creating a pet based around them. That would be tragic. QAQ But thank you for clearing that up! I can be a bit dense at times and I suck with the whole wording and English thing. Thanks a ton again. <3 - Ghost
Posted on: Sun Aug 23, 2015 9:30pm
Seriously? Users have been demanding Fauxes being "given back"? That's... wow, just... wow O.o