Credits on images

[Zabiegly]

Coming from this thread here http://www.scifi-meshes.com/forums/3...kit-fisto.html I thought if an artist chooses to not put credits on his image - why shouldn't that be OK. He's not using anybody elses work, it's all his own. So it's his decision if he puts credits on or not.

I didn't have credits on any of my recent works I posted and I never got told of like that.

(Additionally think al3d could have been a bit more polite but that's another topic).

[Andrew March]

I'm going to jump to Al's defence since I'm actually the one that said credits should be on the image.

Part of the problem is my recent experiences with images being used by other sites without permission, I know that credits won't stop them but it means more work for the numpties if they have to cut out credits and if you do them in a creative way it's almost impossible to get rid of them.

Putting credits on images isn't just making sure you say thanks to the people who's models you're using, although that is the biggest reason. It's also about making sure YOU get credit for producing the finished piece.

I was recently berated by friends here (Yes I do have some) because I had credited everyone in the image except myself and as one person rightly pointed out

that might be my ship there but it's your image!

It's also about protecting SFM and again I've put Chris through the mangle a bit recently, it may seem stupid and unthinkable but someone might consider suing SFM if thier work was stolen (crazy, but that's the world we live in).

[Ramiel]

I'm with Andrew here, it's just a way to protect our works... I can post WIP images without credits (sometimes I just forgot to put them on the image), but on a finished piece I want to be sure noone can use it without my permission...

[Zabiegly]

My point is that when I make an image without using anybody elses work (it's all mine) and for whatever reasons I don't want to put credits on it - I shouldn't be made to.

[Ramiel]

Oh, you can put credits on your image or not, but if I remember well, credits are required by scifi-meshes TOS (I will check again to be sure ), but if someone will steal your image, it's only your fault!

[Andrew March]

Originally Posted by Zabiegly

My point is that when I make an image without using anybody elses work (it's all mine) and for whatever reasons I don't want to put credits on it - I shouldn't be made to.

Why shouldn't you be made to if everyone else is.

[Guerrilla]

The official TOS line is 'Credits on all images in the galleries'.

Now the reason is obvious for people using content created by others, but the reasons for using it on images that are 100% your stuff might not be.

Basically it boils down to a couple of things. First, the obvious one, you're signing your work in hopes of protecting it from people lifting it and claiming it their own. The less obvious side is, that you're also protecting SFM from being accused of being an accessory to copyright infringment. Basically the credit policy we have is the best we can do against someone stealing your stuff from the forum, without resorting to intrusive methods like automatic watermarks or staff approvals on all gallery forum posts. With everything credited we should never be in the unfortunate position of being blamed for negligence in a copyright dispute.

Besides covering our ass... *ahem* legal contingency planning, there are a couple of other points worth noting.

1) You could consider posting an image on SFM signing a sort of a license agreement to display it publically. Basically by signing your name on the image you are stating that this is in fact your work, and no one elses and that in case any disputes pop up there's no room for interpretation. Basically someone nicked stuff or they didn't. It's difficult and messy enough to prove image/mesh theft without the added fun of 'oh, but I never really officially claimed ownership' crap.

Content theft in general is tricky business, and we really cannot do a whole lot to help artists if their stuff ends up on turbosquid from a legal standpoint, but we have a lot of tools (well, not really. we just ban people and make snarky comments about them in the staff forum ) at our disposal when it comes to dealing with issues within SFM. The credits policy is one of the cornerstones of the system, so we sort of don't want to mess with the dynamic there.

2) Tracking that long lost image you saw years ago. People save a lot of images from SFM on their HDs. If your favourite picture happened to die with your HD, usually a simple post in the request forum is usually enough to find the image, if the original had credits. If it was good enough for you to save, odds are it was good enough for other people to save as well.

3) It takes like 2 minutes. Tops.

4) Free publicity. Now wouldn't it be fun, if someone contacted you to do some 3d just because they stumbled upon your credited image in google (or whatever) and looked you up? It could happen.

I'm pretty sure there were other reasons too, when the policy was instated way back when the site started, but these were the ones I could think of right now.

[Comco]

^ I agree on all counts. Those are the rules. They might seem a little heavy from time to time, but in our experience, requiring all images to be credited is the best way to avoid running afoul of a number of situations, some mentioned by Guerrilla above...

Like the man said, it's a small thing...

Furthermore, if anyone has managed to slip through and not place credits on their images, please let a mod or Admin know...If we make a rule for one we have to make it for all.

Cheers.

[Andrew March]

Amen brother Tim

[TheGreatRaja]

basically it boils down to this.

If you don't want put credits on your image, fine, then don't post them on SFM