Ethics:SIMULATION AND ANIMATION DESIGN

Vocabulary• Fair Use

• Statute of Limitations

• Shareware

• Freeware

• Infringement

• Model release

• Patent

• License agreement

• Trademark

• Trade Secret

• Public Domain

• Peer to peer

• File sharing

• Hacker

• Intellectual Property

Copyright• Copyright gives the owner of the copyright the exclusive

right to do and to authorize others to do the following:• Reproduce the work in copies or cd, dvd, or usb

• Prepare derivative works based upon the work

• distribute copies of the work to the public by sale, rental, lease, or lending

• Display the work publicly

• Perform the work publicly (in the case of sound recordings) by means of a digital audio transmission

Who can claim copyright• Copyright protections exists as soon as the work is

created in fixed form

• The author is automatically and immediately the owner

• Only the author or those given permission by the author can claim copyright

• When a work is made as a job, the employer is considered the author; not the employee.

What is defined as a “work made for hire”?• A work prepared by an employee within the scope of his

or her employment

• The following only apply if there is a written agreement that the work shall be considered a work for hire

What is defined as a “work made for hire”? (continued)• A work specially ordered or commissioned for use as:• A contribution to a collective work

• A part of a motion picture or audiovisual work

• A translation

• A supplementary work

• A compilation

• An instructional text

• A test

• Answer material for a test

• An atlas

What is protected by copyright?• Literary works

• Musical works, including any accompanying words

• Dramatic works, including any accompanying music

• Choreographic works

• Pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works

• Motion pictures and other Audiovisual work

• Sound recordings

• Architectural works

• The categories protected by copyright should be viewed broadly.• Computer programs and “compilations” may be registered as

“literary works.”

• Maps and architectural plans may be registered as “pictorial, graphic, or sculptural works.”

What is not protected by copyright?• Works that have not been fixed in a fixed form• Ex: improve speeches; choreography not recorded; performances

not recorded

• Titles, names, short phrases, slogans

• Familiar symbols or designs

• Differences in fonts or colors

• Listings of ingredients or contents

What is not protected by copyright? (continued)• Ideas, procedures, methods, systems, processes,

concepts, principles, discoveries, or devices

• Works consisting entirely of information that is common property and containing no original authorship• Ex: standard calendars, height and weight chars, tape measures

and rulers, lists or tables from public documents.

What is required to receive a copyright?• No publication or registration or other action is required

to secure copyright.

• Copyright is provided automatically when the work is fixed in a copy or CD.• Ex: a song can be fixed in sheet music (“copies”) or on a CD or

both

• If a work is prepared over a period of time, the part of the work that is fixed on a particular date constitutes the created work as of that date.

Do I have to use a copyright notice?• The use of a copyright notice is no longer required under

U.S. law.

• Use of the notice:• Informs the public that the work is protected

• Identifies the copyright owner

• Shows the year of the first publication

• By using the notice, someone cannot claim innocent infringement

What are the parts of the copyright notice?• The symbol ©, or the word “copyright”, or the

abbreviation “Copr.”

• The year of the first publication of the work.

• The name or abbreviation of the copyright owner• Ex: © 2011 John Doe

• note: Since questions may arise from the use of variant

• forms of the notice, you may wish to seek legal advice before

• using any form of the notice other than those given here.

Transfer of Copyright• The transfer of exclusive rights is not valid unless that

transfer is in writing and signed by the owner.• The transfer must say exactly which rights are being transferred.

• A copyright may also be transferred by will or passed as personal property

• Transfers can be made by contract.

Advantages of copyright registration• Establishes a public record of the copyright

• Required by U.S. courts for infringement suits if the work has U.S. origins.

• Can be used as evidence in court if registered within 5 years.

• If registered within 3 months after publication or prior to an infringement, the copyright owner can receive damages and attorney’s fees

• Prevents importation of infringing copies

Special Deposit requirements• To register a computer program, a special deposit is required.• First 25 pages of source code

• Last 25 pages of source code• All 50 pages must be in paper or PDF

• If trying to revise a program that was previously published, send:• The first and last 25 pages if the revisions occur throughout the entire

thing

• Any 50 pages if the revisions are not in the first or last 25• The 50 pages sent must represent the revised material in the new program.

• If a user’s manual or other documents are to be included, send one with the code.

Copyrighting programs with trade secrets• If the program contains trade secrets, send a cover

letter saying it contains trade secrets, then send any of the following:• First and last 25 pages of source code with trade secrets blocked

out

• First and last 10 pages of source code with no blocked out portions

• First and last 25 of object code plus any 10 or more consecutive pages of source code with no blocked-out portions

• Entire source code with trade secrets blocked out if less than 50 pages

• There are limits to how much you can block out though!

Cartoons and Comic Strips• Registered as visual arts or literary work

• Special Deposit requirements• If unpublished, one complete copy

• If the work was published on or after Jan. 1, 1978, two complete copies of the best edition

• If published outside U.S, one complete copy

Cartoons and Comics (continued)• A single registration can be made for cartoons published

as a unit ( Ex: a comic book) if the owner is the same for all elements.

• If you want to register two or more unpublished items, they must:• Be assembled in an orderly form

• Bear a single title identifying the collection as a whole

• Have the same copyright claimant (person applying for registration)

• Be by the same author or have at least one author that has copyrightable authorship in each selection

Registration for Multimedia works• Combines two or more:• Text

• Photography

• Artwork

• Sounds

• Sculpture

• Music

• Cinematography

• Choreography

Special requirements of a Motion-Picture element• Requires:

• One complete copy

• Description of the motion picture• Library of Congress prefers the most detail (Ex: shooting script)• Will accept a synopsis or other general description

Special requirements with Machine-Readable copies• If the copy produces a series of pictures (videogame or

instructions):• A written synopsis or outline of the content and• A reproduction of the Audiovisual elements in a videotape or series of

pictures• The container and any instructional guide

• If the copy produces Textual Images

• Send one copy in visually perceptible form of the first and last 25 pages or the equivalent and five or more pages of the remainder, including the copyright notice, if any.

Special requirements with Machine-Readable copies• If the copy produces Music, send a notated transcript or

recording of the entire work

• If the copy produces Sound, send a recording of the entire work

• If the copy contains a computer program, send first and last 25 pages

Music and Sound• If unpublished, send one complete copy

• If published, send two complete copies (best editions)• Best editions for printed copies based on• Fullness of Score• Printing and Paper quality• Binding and Packaging quality

• Best editions for recordings• CD > Vinyl > Tape • Special enclosures > no enclosures• Open-Reel > cartridge• Quadraphonic > stereophonic > monaural > rechanneled stereo

What is fair use?• Permits limited use of copyrighted material without

acquiring permission from the rights holder.

• Infringement is the when something violates law or the rights of another person.

• Distinction between fair use and infringement will not always be clear.

• There is no specific number or words, lines or notes that may safely be taken without permission.

• Acknowledging the source of the copyrighted material does not substitute for obtaining permission.

Purposes covered under Fair Use• Criticism

• Comment

• News reporting

• Teaching

• Scholarship

• Research

Activities that courts have regarded as fair use• quotation of excerpts in a review or criticism for

purposes of illustration or comment

• quotation of short passages in a scholarly or technical work, for illustration or clarification of the author’s observations

• use in a parody of some of the content of the work parodied

• summary of an address or article, with brief quotations, in a news report

Activates that courts have regarded as fair use (continued)• reproduction by a library of a portion of a work to

replace part of a damaged copy

• reproduction by a teacher or student of a small part of a work to illustrate a lesson

• reproduction of a work in legislative or judicial proceedings or reports

• incidental and fortuitous reproduction, in a newsreel or broadcast, of a work located in the scene of an event being reported.

Factors for determining Fair Use• The purpose and character of the use• Commercial vs nonprofit educational purposes

• The nature of the copyrighted work• Internet website vs school research paper

• The amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole• How much did you use?

• The effect of the use upon the potential market for, or value of, the copyrighted work• Are you keeping the owner from making money or hurting the public

impression of the work?

• The safest and best way to deal with copyright is to always get permission from the copyright holder before using copyrighted material.

• When it is impracticable to obtain permission, you should consider avoiding using the copyrighted material unless you are completely sure that it is covered by Fair Use.

Public Domain• Public Domain contains items that you do not have to

ask permission to use.

• Once works enter into the public domain, derivative works such as adaptations in book and film may increase.

• When finding websites that have public domain items, be especially careful and make sure to verify the authenticity of the website information.

Things usually covered by Public Domain• Mythological gods and goddesses

• Ancient Civilization

• Most silent movies

• Most old books and plays

• Most classical music

• Note: Public Domain is based on the original copyright date so most older items are going to be public domain.

• “If the work was published in the U.S. before January 1, 1923, you are free to use it in the U.S. without permission. These rules and dates apply regardless of whether the work was created by an individual author, a group of authors, or an employee (a work made for hire).

• Because of legislation passed in 1998, no new works will fall into the public domain until 2019, when works published in 1923 will expire. In 2020, works published in 1924 will expire, and so on. For works published after 1977, if the work was written by a single author, the copyright will not expire until 70 years after the author’s death. If a work was written by several authors and published after 1977, it will not expire until 70 years after the last surviving author dies.”http://fairuse.stanford.edu/overview/public-domain/welcome/

Problems with Public Domain• When dealing with combined media (movies or pictures)

the public domain issue is a little harder to determine. • Ex: A statue can be public domain but the picture of the statue

can be copyrighted.

• A character can be public domain but a different version can be copyrighted• Ex: Thor (mythology) vs Thor (Marvel)

• Ex: Alice in wonderland (Book by Lewis Caroll) vs Alice in Wonderland (Disney Movie)

Ethical Questions about Game Design• Games are covered under the First Amendment as Free

Speech.• Should we create extremly violent games, such as GTA, just

because we can?

• Should we be concerned about what we put in games and how it affects players?

• Should we limit our potential market by watering down the violence or other graphic content to sell to younger players?

• Should we make mature games by saying it is for older players knowing that younger players will probably play it too?

Websites to use for the “Ethics Debate”• http://www.cbsnews.com/news/violent-video-games-and-

mass-violence-a-complex-link/

• http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/130594/ethics_of_game_design.php

• http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2013/09/12/training-simulation-mass-killers-often-share-obsession-with-violent-video-games/

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_game_controversies

• http://researchnews.osu.edu/archive/vidviollaw.htm

The blame game• There really is not one group responsible.• Parents and Guardians should pay more attention to what they purchase

for their kids

• Retail stores should do a better job of explaining contents

• Gamers should be a little more cautious about the games they play.

• Developers should be more cautious of what they put in games since players are affected by the games.

• People usually compare Video Games to other forms of entertainment ( movies and TV) but since Video Games are interactive, they really belong in their own category.

• There is also very little scientific research to prove or disprove the violence and Video Game relationship.

When making a game, consider the following:• Make the game as if you were the only player• People will buy the game if it is a good game

• Don’t sell out your morals to make more money

• Don’t try to do something you cannot do• Ex: Tetris maker not able to draw so everything is blocky.