Question about Featured Games and Free Sounds

[Kampfkarren (boyned)]

One of the requirements to have your game featured is “Explicit, licensed permission to use all sound effects that appear in game”.

Do sounds that are publicly free on Roblox (like click sounds) still require a license? I have some sounds that aren’t publicly free that I have written approval for by their uploader, but do I need to go through this process for free sounds on Roblox?

[dragonfrosting]

The big issue in this is whether the sound is actually created by and/or legally owned by the uploader. A lot of users strip audio from games and such without permission from the source, so even if you got permission of the uploader to use their asset, you could still be using it without a license from the proper owner.

[Corecii]

The following also applies to Featured Games

Are sounds like these allowed for Xbox and Featured Games?

Xbox featured games are not allowed to have content that violates copyright. If that sound pack comes with a copyright license that allows you to use it then it is fine to use for Xbox featured games. Same with Royalty Free music.

Some examples of license types:

• Free to use, no restrictions. (CC0 and Public Domain)
• Requires attribution, i.e. credit to the author in your work (game) somewhere. (CC by)
• “Free”, but not allowed for commercial works, which Roblox games are if you devex from them. (CC by nc)
• Some licenses explicitely state that you can’t use it at all.

Licenses can be more complicated than these and can even include specific terms formed in a negotiation. This only describes some of the common licenses you’ll find when searching for free stuff.

Always check the license and comply with it. As long as you do then it’s fine to use it for Xbox featured games.

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Here’s the relevant section from the Xbox Featured Checklist: “NO unlicensed copy-written material (images, audio, text or speech without explicit permission from owner)”

Always look up and understand the license of any code, music, or graphics you plan on using and comply with it.

Here is another relevant post I've made

If you can could you list all of the things a game would not be eligible for if it used copyrighted content?

• If you use any of the Prohibited Intellectual Properties, then your game is “not eligible” for being on Roblox. In other words, it will be removed, deleted, or suspended until you remove the content. Individual infringing assets may be deleted if possible, but if not, your game will have to be taken down.
  • This can be applied “retroactively” – if you’re using any content without permission, then the content owner can send a DMCA takedown at any time and get your assets or game removed from Roblox if the game already has the infringing content in it.
  • This is part of US law, not a Roblox-specific thing. Roblox must comply with it. This is the same mechanism by which YouTube videos get taken down, for example.
• If you use any content without having the rights to it, then your game is not eligible for being featured.
  • “NO unlicensed copy-written material (images, audio, text or speech without explicit permission from owner)”
• If you use any content without having the rights to it, then your game is not eligible for being featured on Xbox
  • “NO unlicensed copy-written material (images, audio, text or speech without explicit permission from owner)”

What is “explicit permission from owner”?

• You can find a lot of images, audio, and code that includes a copyright license – this gives you explicit permission to use it under certain conditions. This includes Public Domain works, which have no restrictions.
• You can contact authors of sounds, code, or graphics to gain permission if there is no license provided.
• You can buy sounds, graphics, and code on various websites. This is considered explicit permission, granted that you stay inside the agreement.
• You can form a contract with another developer that gives you permission to use their works. This is explicit permission.

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Note that copyright licenses can have any arbitrary terms. If you put content on Roblox, you have a significant restriction to those terms: Roblox must be able to use all content for any purpose without paying anything to anyone. If you sign a royalty-like system for some content, then you must add in an explicit term that grants Roblox the ability to use the content without paying any royalties. See Section 6(B) of the Roblox Terms of Use.

• “This means that you are granting Roblox rights to use your UGC as contemplated by this Section 6(B)(3) without the obligation to pay royalties to any third party…”
• “Your UGC, and the use of your UGC as contemplated by these Terms, does not and will not: … (iii) require Roblox to obtain any further licenses from or pay royalties or compensation or other amounts or provide any attribution to any third parties;”

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A final note, you are assumed to have rights to all content you upload. You can upload content that you do not have the explicit right to (see above for what that means), but you will be breaking the Roblox Terms of Use by doing so. The whole of Section 6 of the Roblox Terms of Use is a good read, and not too long.

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I am not a lawyer, and this is not legal advice.

(Members-only link)

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Not mentioned in these posts is if sounds that are free in the Sounds category are free for you to use.

This entirely depends on the license behind the sound. Just because someone uploaded it doesn’t mean that the copyright owner gave you – or even the uploader – rights to use the sound. You will have to research who made the sound and what copyright license is applied to the sound to figure out if you have rights to the sound.

Often, users upload sounds that they do not have the rights to, so you should not assume that you have rights to sounds in the Sounds category.

I don’t have a source at the moment, but I remember reading that It’s fine to have a music box or radio system that players can buy that plays any sound.

[Kampfkarren (boyned)]

So as I assumed where only if the person who originally uploaded it had permission?

[Corecii]

I posted a bit earlier than I wanted to. I’ve amended my post to include more details.

Whether or not the person who uploaded it had permission does not have much bearing on whether or not you have permission.

For example, you are allowed to get specific permission for you to use a sound, upload it to Roblox, and mark the “make free” button. Others are not allowed to use the sound in this case, despite it being “free” for them. Only you got permission since you made a private agreement for license to use the sound.

Whether or not you can use the sound depends on the public copyright license applied to the sound and any private license agreements you make with the copyright holder. You should research any sounds you want to use to find where they originate so that you can check their public copyright license. If the public copyright license prohibits you from using the sound then you can contact the copyright holder and attempt to make an agreement for a private copyright license between just you and them.

[SeafoamWolfy (Seafoam)]

Wait so we can’t use music from other games and get featured?

I’ve been using Nintendo music since I started 3 years ago…

[Kampfkarren (boyned)]

No, of course you can’t.