18 replies to this topic

[RedDragon]

From time to time I'm getting ads for this website (Gambody) that sells MWO models for 3D printing ... Does anyone know about that company or if they have a license from PGI/CGL? I can't imagine that's legal - even if they don't sell the finished mechs, it's still a copyrighted design, isn't it?

Edit: On an afterthought, shouldn't have posted the link. On the other hand - if those guys even advertise the stuff an Facebook, it seems like everyone except PGI knows about it ...

Edited by RedDragon, 11 April 2017 - 05:43 AM.
Please refrain from posting such links. Thank you!

[Tarogato]

lulz, I didn't think it was possible for somebody to charge more than PGI does for some mech models.

[Roughneck45]

Models would be, but that site is selling blueprints. Not sure where that falls legally. If they were made and not ripped straight from the game they might be legal.

[RedDragon]

Roughneck45, on 11 April 2017 - 05:45 AM, said:

Models would be, but that site is selling blueprints. Not sure where that falls legally. If they were made and not ripped straight from the game they might be legal.

I am pretty sure it's still ilegal since they are making money off of some else's intellectual property. Heck, you can even get sued if you transcribe a song into notes and sell the sheet music ... I don't think the form in which you sell the design really matters, but it would be nice to know for sure. Someone should tweet Russ about it, else PGI likely will never notice.

[Appogee]

Roughneck45, on 11 April 2017 - 05:45 AM, said:

If they were made and not ripped straight from the game they might be legal.

They'd still be an infringement of PGI's copyright.

[Hit the Deck]

Well, more tangible things already exist if you look hard enough.

[ScrapIron Prime]

PGI doesnt have a license for 3D merchandise. (Harebrained probably does.). If there's a company selling sculpts, its not PGI's problem, but i bet they point it out to the license holder.

Speaking of which... License holder... If you make a 3D Centurion, I will buy it. Just saying.

[RedDragon]

ScrapIron Prime, on 11 April 2017 - 06:12 AM, said:

PGI doesnt have a license for 3D merchandise. (Harebrained probably does.). If there's a company selling sculpts, its not PGI's problem, but i bet they point it out to the license holder.

Speaking of which... License holder... If you make a 3D Centurion, I will buy it. Just saying.

They don't hold rights to physical merchandise, but it's still their (Alex'?) copyright that's infringed, if I'm not mistaken?

[MeiSooHaityu]

When it comes to 3D models for Table Top, I would assume it needs to be sold through Catalyst Game Labs (and maybe Topps if they have a store front) to be legal. I'm pretty sure that if it is a physical item like a statue or miniature, it needs to be approved by Topps as they seem to be the license holder for such things.

[Roughneck45]

I guess it depends how much money the guy is making and whether they feel the need to defend their IP.

[REDACTED]

This guy has been making them since closed beta, and I'm pretty sure quite a few of them are displayed in PGI's office.

Edited by Ibrandul Mike, 11 April 2017 - 12:33 PM.
Don't!

[ScrapIron Prime]

Roughneck45, on 11 April 2017 - 06:31 AM, said:

I guess it depends how much money the guy is making and whether they feel the need to defend their IP.

[REDACTED]

This guy has been making them since closed beta, and I'm pretty sure quite a few of them are displayed in PGI's office.

Yeah, limited print runs that PGI ordered custom. By license he is not allowed to mass produce them. The few extras he sold were all £150 or more.

Edited by Ibrandul Mike, 11 April 2017 - 12:34 PM.
quote cleanup

[Levi Porphyrogenitus]

In general, if you make them for your own use it's fine. If you make them as gifts for others, it is probably fine. If you sell them at cost, it's probably not fine, and if you sell them for profit it is theft, plain and simple.

[C E Dwyer]

Reasonable use, is restricted to personal use, as soon as you charge money, even for cost of materials it's in Breach of the I.P and licencing, absorbing the cost, and handing out as gifts is also a breach.

It means I can make moulds to make copies of old unseen, for my own games, but I would be in breach of it, if I was making them for other people.

I can use them in my own home, and at private functions, but if I was to run a table at a gaming convention, I'd be in breach of reasonable use.

If it's not challenged, within a year of the licence holder being made aware, then it lapses, it's why Harmony Gold jumped down everyone's throats, for years and years. It's only because they lost a big case, that C.G.L, P.G.I, and Iron wind, have decided to produce images that look extremely close to the original, banking on HG not risking another lost legal battle.

I'm seeing Alex's designs sold on E-bay as battletech scale miniatures, so that's breaching Iron Winds Licencing to make the figures, and either Alex's or P.G.I's Intellectual Property.

Edited by Cathy, 11 April 2017 - 08:12 AM.

[Ibrandul Mike]

[mod] Hi everyone... just to make one thing clear...
posting stuff that is NOT allowed, even if it is just links,
can lead to serious consequences.
So please just don't![/mod]

[ScrapIron Prime]

Wait...

PGI commissions this guy to make them models and allows him to continue making models... but we're not allowed to link to the models that PGI commissioned???

I'm confused.

[RedDragon]

Ibrandul Mike, on 11 April 2017 - 12:34 PM, said:

[mod] Hi everyone... just to make one thing clear...
posting stuff that is NOT allowed, even if it is just links,
can lead to serious consequences.
So please just don't![/mod]

Just to be clear on this - if links are forbidden, does this mean PGI knows about the site and they view it as illegal?

[cazidin]

RedDragon, on 11 April 2017 - 03:48 PM, said:

Just to be clear on this - if links are forbidden, does this mean PGI knows about the site and they view it as illegal?

Most likely, and either they are discretely handling the matter or simply lack the resources (and drive) to do anything about them.

[RedDragon]

cazidin, on 11 April 2017 - 03:49 PM, said:

Most likely, and either they are discretely handling the matter or simply lack the resources (and drive) to do anything about them.

Well, either way it would be nice to get some kind of answer on this. After all people may find the site and think "Hey cool, PGI is selling stuff there!"
I find it a bit strange that we get censored (and even threatened) by mods for posting allegedly forbidden stuff, but we don't get directly told that yes, that stuff indeed is no legitimate merchandise.

[cazidin]

RedDragon, on 11 April 2017 - 03:55 PM, said:

Well, either way it would be nice to get some kind of answer on this. After all people may find the site and think "Hey cool, PGI is selling stuff there!"
I find it a bit strange that we get censored (and even threatened) by mods for posting allegedly forbidden stuff, but we don't get directly told that yes, that stuff indeed is no legitimate merchandise.

You're right, it would be nice but, yeah, PGI isn't going to publicly and officially comment on the matter. Most businesses don't unless they already have sent a legal warning, because you can't officially OK fan creations - or, if you do, anyway, you've got to be VERY careful because of copyright laws.

[Redacted]


(Or is that what I want them to think? )