IS IT LEGAL

[8up]

I plan on making a CARTOON FROM ANIMATION MASTER TO SELL ON DVD. I have a few legal questions about making a cartoon and publishing it myself

 

1) if i buy the program(AM) do i have all rights to use it(can you come back and say you want a cut

because i used your program)

 

2)Do i (by law) have to tell what program i used to make my cartoon (must i put am's name on the box)

 

3a)I see alot of add's in 3d world magazine for pre-built 3d things like cars, town's lamps etc. Will any of

these programs work well with animation master. can i just order the kit and drop and drag things into

A.M. in a 3d workspace

 

3b) are these legal (do i own the rights to the object since i paid for them) and do you have any

recomended ones that you have used with am(i want to cut down on design and focus on my characters)

 

4) by puting a copywrite on my package do that imply i am in the process of getting it copywrited and

prevent others from sellin it (at the same time making it MY PROPERTY)

 

 

 

As i am just making a sarcastic cartoon i dont want to spend 2 weeks making furiniture towns exc. I just want to make my own character and focus on that. No one will pay attention to these objects just the people and what they say and do

[KenH]

1+2) You don't have to pay Hash or mention. Though a mention at the end would be nice.

 

3) If they're poly models you can only use them as props...which means you can't animate the mesh. But you can transform them as a whole. You'd have to ask the makers of these if they're royalty free.

 

4) Not sure. I assume you need to register it somewhere.

[emerson_85]

4) by puting a copywrite on my package do that imply i am in the process of getting it copywrited and

prevent others from sellin it (at the same time making it MY PROPERTY)

As soon as you put "Copyright blah blah blah" on your work, it's copywritten. You do not need to register or anything. However, registering and going through the formal process gives you greater legal protection. In this particular case, it doesn't sound like you need to go that far--you just don't want people selling your work, but I don't believe that a huge sum of money is at stake if they do.

 

When is my work protected?

Your work is under copyright protection the moment it is created and fixed in a tangible form that it is perceptible either directly or with the aid of a machine or device.

 

Do I have to register with your office to be protected?

No. In general, registration is voluntary. Copyright exists from the moment the work is created. You will have to register, however, if you wish to bring a lawsuit for infringement of a U.S. work. See Circular 1, Copyright Basics, section “Copyright Registration.”

 

You can read more at http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ1.html.

 

Hope that helps.

 

-Emerson

[pugless]

Good old copywrite issues

Acutally it all depends on the country you are and what you doing with the work. Any thing written (with or without any copywrite symbol or other such nonsence) is copywrite protected in the uk for the life of the author and 70 years after their death. Again, the fun is in the details. If you just making something for a bit of fun, you could probably use (not saying this is good....but) copywrited material and get away with it. Only problem comes is when you try and make money from it....then again the laws are completly different if its for 'education purposes'...

 

can + worms on this one. Best fire up the ol' google and see what you feel happy with, because in this day and age anyone can sue anyone for any reason under the sun (sounds a little dr. seuss ) so really just depends on what your comfortable with

 

 

P.

[Dhar]

4) by puting a copywrite on my package do that imply i am in the process of getting it copywrited and

prevent others from sellin it (at the same time making it MY PROPERTY)

 

As I remember from my art classes in college, you don't have to register your artwork with the copyright office to protect your work. By simply placing the © sign on your work, it's basically telling others that this is your intellectual property and you are automatically protected by the copyright laws provided you can prove that this is your own original work.

[8up]

Wow that was fast. I left 5 min and got 3 posts. Thanks guys. So i can import these objets into A.M. and move the camera around (example: guy walks around chair) and everything will keep perspective COOL. Two of the ones i was looking at were

 

http://marlinstudios.com/

 

http://doschdesign.com/

 

This will save me lots of time if they work. Anyone have others that they think are good? DONT WORRY I WILL BLOW UP AM IF I MAKE IT (JUST NOT ON MY PRODUCT BOX)

[ZachBG]

Don't forget, there are also a buttload* of free Hash models out there; on the program CD, on the Extras CD, and in various other places (plug plug).

 

*Buttload: the official unit of measure in Buttslovia.

[heyvern]

I converted 6 episodes of some shorts I am working on to pdf and submitted the whole batch to the writers guild as a "tv series" script for $20.

 

Now if I ever see "Happy Bear in the Enchanted Forest" on Fox... I can sue their pants off...

 

 

--------------------

 

Another "trick" to have written proof of copyright by a specific date is to print out your work and mail it to yourself.

 

When you receive it... don't open it! Just file it away. This could be used potentially in a court setting to prove that the date on the postal precessing stamp indicates it was "original" and yours at that time.

 

Vernon "!" Zehr

[Luxo]

Hey guys,

 

Since we're on the issue of legality here I've got a question or two.

 

(Maybe I should have asked this before I storyboarded the whole thing---)

 

I have this audio clip here that I'm planning on using for my 'mini film':

 

http://www.sitcomsonline.com/sounds/curbyourenthusiasm.mp3

 

Ok, so if I understand this correctly if this was something I paid for, say on a CD, I could use it, as long as it was for my personal use (no film festivals, paychecks, etc.) and I gave the necessary credit.

 

Now on the audio clip above, I don't really own it, I don't know how this site got it, but I know it's not 'for sale' anywhere, but that's a stupid excuse.

 

Is this really pirating? I just want to use this audio (the Theme Song for Curb Your Enthusiasm) for my own little film, nothing else---are the police going to bust down my doors?

 

Thanks,

-Josh

[8up]

HEYVERN

YOU CRACK ME UP(funny sounding toon). I planned on sending my self all 13 series seperately to myself via certified mail. I figure it would cost around$120. Then getting a lock box at the bank to put them in. I also looked into the getting a U.S. registered trademark for my logo. This would protect the whole dvd box and all. They told me a lawyer could file it for me for around $200 or so. The only problem is i have to send a fully completed box copy thru my lawyer with the logo on it. So it has got to be a done prodject before i can get a logo. He told me i could also get a extention to file, but if i didnt show a finished product in 6 months i would need to file for another extintion(that could get costly). I need images i can use in a production cartoon for sale to general public. I WANT IT TO BE ALL LEGAL. When i get rich i want to stay rich.

HELL YEAH ALOT OF MONEY IS AT STAKE! Its taken me a lifetime to come up with a winning idea and i am not giving it away for anyone to steal. Its the same principle hash uses. I have a good product and others pray on that. Thats why hash doesnt give out demos that hackers can just break the code on. Thats also the reason (i figure) that you have to put the disk in everytime. cyoa if you know what i mean.

[luckbat]

Is this really pirating?

No, it's a copyright violation. Both are illegal under current U.S. law, but one is not equivalent to the other.

 

I just want to use this audio (the Theme Song for Curb Your Enthusiasm) for my own little film, nothing else---are the police going to bust down my doors?

Well, that depends on what you're planning to do with your little film, doesn't it?

 

I planned on sending my self all 13 series seperately to myself via certified mail. I figure it would cost around$120. Then getting a lock box at the bank to put them in. I also looked into the getting a U.S. registered trademark for my logo. This would protect the whole dvd box and all.

All you'd accomplish would be to waste $120.

 

From http://www.snopes.com/legal/postmark.asp

Mailing one's works to oneself and keeping the unopened, postmarked envelope as proof of right of ownership to them (a practice known as the "poor man's copyright") has no substantive legal effect in the U.S.

[8up]

lol. yeah i know that but i was counting on the added effect of the work being placed (unopened) in a federal building. You must sign in before going into the vault and i am only going in once. THE SECOND PERSON TO SEE THIS SINCE I PUT IT IN A FEDERAL BUILDING WOULD BE THE JUDGE. It may work it may not but i think its a good idea to protect me

 

isnt it an artist worst fear to seing someone profit and take their work. My worst fear is seing my catoon on adult swim (while i am still in the middle of it)

[Luxo]

Is this really pirating?

No, it's a copyright violation. Both are illegal under current U.S. law, but one is not equivalent to the other.

 

I just want to use this audio (the Theme Song for Curb Your Enthusiasm) for my own little film, nothing else---are the police going to bust down my doors?

Well, that depends on what you're planning to do with your little film, doesn't it?

 

 

Thanks Mike,

 

I'm going to post my little film in the forums, submit it to the mini film contest, and if I think it's any good maybe A:M films.

 

They might not bust down my doors, but that doesn't do anything for the tremendous amount of guilt I would feel---

 

Yay or Nay? I'm leaning towards Nay

[luckbat]

On the one hand, your risk of being jailed or fined by the copyright police would be zero.

 

On the other hand, that guilt you're feeling is from using Luciano Michelini's song 'Frolic' without compensating him. Why not use some public domain music or a free sound loop from Flashkit.com?