DMCA Questions (ROBLOX Guidelines)

I have few questions about the DMCA guidelines.

  • Does Terrain fall under DMCA
  • I’m I allowed to use others assets if I use it only for me and not for others like I’m not going to allow anyone else to play the game I’m I allowed to use the assets

I read.

  1. DMCA Guidelines | Documentation - Roblox Creator Hub
  2. Answers to your recent questions regarding our DMCA policy - Updates / Announcements - Developer Forum | Roblox
  3. More information about our DMCA policy - Updates / Announcements - Developer Forum | Roblox
  4. Roblox Terms of Use – Roblox Support

None of these anwered my questions. @Roblox please update your DMCA guidelines they do not tell you what falls under the Guidelines.

2 Likes

The second one is likely fine but Roblox might think you’re going to use such assets for a public game, so…
Also, I believe this should go in #help-and-feedback:platform-usage-support

1 Like

First of all, DMCA actions are initiated. One doesn’t receive a DMCA strike without a complainant filing it.

  1. Does terrain fall under DMCA?

Interesting question. DMCA here generally applies to code, visual material, overall appearance… Not including an idea or game mechanics.

But Roblox aims to provide effective ways to prevent straightforward copying of the assets and making rather mirror like games blatantly copying the work.

Terrain? Probably not, unless the landscape is very distinctive or includes copyrighted material(s), elements etc.

  1. Using other’s assets strictly for personal use.

I assume you mean assets that weren’t shared for public (re)use and without author’s permission.

Asset owners and Roblox still hold rights to the asset, so even personal use exclusively in a personal setting may be considered a copyright infringement. Owners possess the detrimental rights to use, distribution and reproduction.

The final answer mostly depends on which assets we are talking about. Assets stolen with SynapseX’s saveinstance()? Almost definitely a violation. Assets of other devs you got access to (team create, personal files, sharing, …)? Depends on specific circumstances whether it’s an infringement or not.

Analogy: You created a special fusion reactor and successfully registered a patent in most countries. Someone took the information to their garage and played with the patent description (which is and has to be publicly available), until they made an exact copy. They won’t share it with anyone. Still infringing? Most will say yes, although there are exceptions. Some countries/jurisdictions allow such personal use on certain IPs for education, innovation promoting, and other purposes. Also, the famous fair use convocation.

What I wanted to say is, depends on the circumstances, on the asset, possible exceptions. Will you get a DMCA strike? Shouldn’t happen. Will you be infringing copyright? I would operate under the assumption I am until considering every aspect.

Small disclaimer: This is not a legal advice.

1 Like

When I mean terrain, I mean like if it used with all Roblox materials and not custom materials. Now if the terrain is stolen by SynapseX’s saveinstance() it would fall under DMCA if the terrain had custom materials not from Roblox is that what you’re saying.

1 Like

Yeah, sounds about right. Though I’m not completely sure. I don’t know much about moderation history specifically regarding terrain, but DMCA is normally filled agains copying of other assets like models or images. Or games as a whole. If the terrain is special and distinctively typical for the given game and somebody copied that, I think the original creator may potentially succeed in the dispute. But games are not usually taken down for similar or copied terrain; rather because of other things.

And then there’s also a problem of similarity. What if I make a snowy valley with a frozen lake and mountain peaks around (solely terrain), almost identical to some existing game I didn’t know about. Such similarity shouldn’t be a reason to get a strike.

But if I copied a map from The Wild West or The Isle, I’d personally expect a takedown sooner or later. Those maps are quickly recognizable and distinctive.

1 Like

This topic was automatically closed 14 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.