Character models and copyright

[Foxeye]

I have a question for you Oloh, that I think *might* be in your arena.

Can armor/clothing design in a computer game be copyrighted?

I'm about to get the point of my webcomic where my oldest character will appear in her full battle regalia. It's a set of gear that started as me drawing her in her velious-texture armor, and over time was modified here and there and has become something that is partly original, partly EQ-esque.

Now, for the sake of writing my own little webcomic, I suspect SOE doesn't really care if one of my characters wears a polished tin tunic (or whatever it was called), but I want to leave the door open to someday printing this thing on a place like Lulu.com. I don't want to do anything that puts me on shakey copyright ground. But at the same time, I'm very fond of the look (it's one that almost no one in EQ saw, mind you, because by the time chest items that possessed it were available to the masses, everyone had luclin graphics on).

So, yes, is armor/robe/etc. design copyright-able? I personally consider it to be not so much visual art as, well, clothing design, ala Calvin Klein and Armani. So I assumed at first that it's the same question as if I were to draw a character wearing something I saw in Vogue magazine. I think.

But I'm not the lawyer. :)

Edit: I thought I should probably mention as well that this is not an EQ-based comic, just has characters imported into it that I played in various MMOs.

[Raam Kx'Thorath]

If I could give you my opinion, I would say no.

Now, I'm no lawyer either mind you, but when you think about how clothing designs work in today's world - then I don't think it would be possible.

How often do you not see copied designs by Armanis, Versache, Calvin Klein and other professional designers, and there's never done anything about it.

I'm sure that if they could copyright they're design they would. Somehow I just doubt that there could be any reasonable way of doing this. Many designs look somewhat alike without really being it, or without one designer had looked at another, and if a lawsuit was filed.. who's to say who made what first.. and who ripped off who...

Not sure I'm making sense.. but that's just my logic.

[Oloh]

I have a question for you Oloh, that I think *might* be in your arena.

Can armor/clothing design in a computer game be copyrighted?


Yes. Copyright protects "works of authorship." The clothing in game was all designed, modeled and created by artists under the employ or with a contractual arrangement with the developer. As such (definitely with the employee, probably with the contractual employee), the rights to that work of authorship (the in game clothing) vests in the development company.

One of the rights granted to copyright holders is the right to create derivative works. Taking a 3D model and converting it to comic would likely be considered creating a derivate work, and would violate the developer's copyrights.

Whether the company chooses to enforce the copyright is completely a different story. The tradition in the industry to date is that "fan art" is not only permitted but encouraged.

At any rate, you are permitted to make "fair use" of other people's copyrights. What constitutes fair use has about 10000000 applications, so you have to be careful here.

[Feyshtey]

Unless of course your fan art or fan fiction is 'adult oriented'. Then you might be asked to cease it's use.

I recall a situation in EQ where someone created some pretty graphic adult fiction based on EQ, and not only was it wiped from the web, the author's account was banned.

Tasteful use of the derivitive works is one thing. Even satire or bashing of the company can be within the bounds of reason. But I'm pretty certain that things that seriously damage the family friendly image of a company would get you into some hot water rather quickly.

[Oloh]

Good point Feyshtey. The idea is that you do not have permission to use the material. If you do so, you should probably use it in a manner that would make the copyright holder happy, rather than upset, simply because they are less likely to enforce their rights on you.