Regarding permission to use files/Game extracts
Hello,
The recent community content guidelines have upset a lot of fans and content creators, rightfully so.
Several sites like YouTube, the JD Wiki or any of the JD Fanon websites host files which are extracted from the game directly for showcase and documentation purposes, which goes against Ubisofts Terms of Use.
Here is a non-exhaustive list of forbidden behaviours that may lead to investigation by our staff and may result in sanctions (as detailed in Article 6)
9. Sell, rent, market, arrange, modify, decompile, disassemble, reverse engineer, translate, adapt, reproduce, distribute, disseminate, repost, transfer, index, copy, extract and/or automate any information, software, product or other element of the Content and/or Services by any means without our express prior permission.
None of the websites claim any of those assets to be theirs, all of the assets are Ubisoft property and they are used with transformative and creative means, none of the pictures hosted on the JD Fandom, for example, showcase the full routine, host tutorials on how to extract and prohibit exploitation.
Why is this being brought up? Ubisoft has not given the community enough materials on their own to sustain it, The JD16, JD19 and JD20 fankits, while contaning lots of assets useful for different purposes which are not available anywhere else, are simply not enough to produce the content we have today, thus having to get our own, I consider this an unfair move, not providing fans publicly with enough content in the begging and then taking legal action when fans use Ubisoft's own assets for transformative means.
Here are a few examples of types of content which could have not been possible without using any sort of asset from the games:
Fanmade Mash-Ups, a routine made out of parts of different songs, have been made using the official game extracts, fankit assets and using fanmade content (also known as fanmade rotos), Ubisoft has not given anyone the videos of the coaches up until the JD19 kit,
Fanmade menu showcases would have not been possible if there haven't been bits of the UI already available for people to use, this including the game font, the feedback and the overall elements, the only UI available was in the JD16 fankit with 5 different types of stars.
Fanmade routine remakes would have not been possible to be made without having access to the original song's assets (coach, background, pictograms), which were never publicly available for any released song, Ubisoft has not given the full assets of older songs, only JD19 and some from JD20.
Games like League Of Legends by Riot Games, a game Ubisoft has collaborated in the map "DRUM GO DUM" by K/DA, host their assets and API publicly, called "data dragon", a database that gets constantly updated with every patch and includes assets to be used free of charge and without legal action, I believe such database should be made in order to keep fans and content creators with sufficient materials, while also avoiding the need for fans to "rip" or "extract" the games, which could be punishable, and also encouraging smaller, underrated content creators which may go unnoticed when Ubisoft currently provides higher quality assets only to big YouTubers.
The current means of getting assets are:
- "extracted" or "ripped" go from dumping the game (which goes against the console terms and warranty),
- cached images available in your phone gallery (the JD Controller App and JDNow cache the images downloaded during your session. On Android ,ising the gallery or file explorer app, those images can be accessed without "breaching" the servers)
- available to be seen using the browser (Using JDNow, users can freely see any image the game has by simply using the browser's default features, like "Open Image In New Tab" or "Save Image As")
The last 2 means are clearly not used by anyone in the community with malicious or monetary intent, Ubisoft also noting in their own Terms Of Use, notably, the type of content being made currently is content made from already existing Ubisoft content:
In certain Services, you may create, upload, edit, modify, adapt, publish and/or submit names, images, designs, skins, photos, videos, maps, music compositions/sheets, streams, activities and other materials ("User Generated Content” or “UGC”). You warrant that your UGC will comply with these Terms at all times, during and after its creation, and with any additional terms that may be applicable. This section will continue to apply after any termination of your Account and/or termination or suspension of a Service.
11.1 UGC that you produce from pre-existing Ubisoft Content (“Derived UGC”).
a) We are the sole owner of all Intellectual Property Rights relating to Derived UGC.
b) You hereby irrevocably assign to us, with full title guarantee, free of charge, all Intellectual Property Rights and rights of use you may have over Derived UGC, on a worldwide basis and for the period of protection of each right.
c) We may file or register any application for Intellectual Property Rights relating to Derived UGC in our name, in all countries in the world.
If there are any misunderstandings or optional proposals, I'd love to engage them in the replies.
1 people found this helpful