M.U.G.E.N character exchange

[Mega.EXE]

Alright this thread is for all of you M.U.G.E.N players out there here you can request a character to see if anyone else has it then they can PM it to you ^^ I'll start anyone have a JSS (Jump SuperStars) style Himura Kenshin?

[Ingemar]

Generally, swapping MUGEN charas or posting links of them is a big no-no, just like offering downloads of MP3's or licensed anime.

[Mega.EXE]

Hmmmm... Well then the Mods can get rid of this I was not aware.

[Shia Kyosuka]

Mugen is perfectly legal, so I see no problem with this. :/

Why would posting Mugen characters be a big no-no?

EDIT: oh, and the characters are as well.

[TriezGamer]

Mugen is perfectly legal, so I see no problem with this. :/

Why would posting Mugen characters be a big no-no?

EDIT: oh, and the characters are as well.

A lot of MUGEN characters are based off of copyrighted material and used without permission. While there is some original stuff out there, most of what I've seen is IP theft.

[Bobtheduck]

What is Mugen?

[GrubbTheFragger]

What is Mugen?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M.U.G.E.N.

[Shia Kyosuka]

A lot of MUGEN characters are based off of copyrighted material and used without permission. While there is some original stuff out there, most of what I've seen is IP theft.

there is no theft involved, as Mugen games cannot be sold. It's the same thing as saying FanArt is copyright infringement, pretty much.

The argument that when copyrighted characters or sprites such as those owned by Capcom or SNK are used in the works, the works themselves are a violation of copyright and thus any claims are to be argued as null and void. Although Nintendo has released a statement[7] against emulation in all forms, Capcom, SNK and other sites have not shown any ill will towards those creating content for the engine, despite being aware of the practice for several years. In fact, only one group has stepped forward to ever ask content from their work not be made for the engine: French Bread (Known as Watanabe Seisakujo prior to 2003) the creator of the Queen of Heart games, and the co-creators of Melty Blood. They also included the community of developers for the game Knuckle Fighter X in this notice. During the release of Melty Blood, they requested that sounds and voices from the game itself not to be used with the characters, notably loosening slightly their stance regarding conversions. Interestingly, this limitation was removed in subsequent installments of the game series. Since then, French Bread has not aired any publicly known objections of conversions from their later games, like Glove on Fight, and Ragnarok Battle Offline, however their exact stance is debatable.

Yeah, the fighter companies don't care. Except French Bread at one point.

[Mega.EXE]

Yeah I don't really see how it's wrong but...

[TriezGamer]

there is no theft involved, as Mugen games cannot be sold. It's the same thing as saying FanArt is copyright infringement, pretty much.

Non-profit != License to use. Common belief, but totally wrong.
A company doing nothing to stop it still has a copyright on the material as well. Copyright restrictions still apply unless explicit permission is given.

That said, I doubt anyone will EVER be taken to court over something so trivial as a MUGEN character.

And fan-art IS a violation of copyright.

[Shia Kyosuka]

I never said using non-profit stuff was going to give you a license to use it.

I just said fighter companies do not care.

I also never said companies who don't act on their copyrights lose their copyright on their material.

and finally, I never said anything about FanArt NOT being copyright infringement, I only said it's like saying it is.

Useless, right? Isn't it accepted, regardless? doesn't CAA have its own FanArt section?

so I said there's no theft involved. You use a more literal definition of theft than I do in a situation like this, apperantly.

When a company knows about something like FanArt or MUGEN characters for years, but doesn't act upon it, and really isn't being hurt by it at ALL, I don't consider it theft.

I came to this thread and posted only to keep this thread unlocked. Not to debate about copyright or anything. It's not going to solve anything.
It's like debating about whether or not a book is glued or strung together. All in all, the book's still there, either way.

This thread's nothing to be afraid of. Nobody's suing anybody over MUGEN characters and when a company steps up and requests that their material not be used, the MUGEN community respects it and gets rid of all the material of that company.

[TriezGamer]

--> Shia
Initially, I was merely rationalizing reasons CAA might not want the discussion of MUGEN characters. I never even stated anywhere that it was allowed or disallowed, I was simply operating as a possible defense of Ingemar's post, which may or may not be true; I don't know, and really don't think it matters. Call it playing Devil's Advocate, if you wish.

and finally, I never said anything about FanArt NOT being copyright infringement, I only said it's like saying it is.

The problem is, (in large part due to your statement on theft, or lack of) you stated nowhere that your understanding of fanart OR Mugen characters was actually violation of copyright.

A third party coming into this thread would likely interpret your statement the same way I did.

so I said there's no theft involved. You use a more literal definition of theft than I do in a situation like this, apperantly.

You seem to interpret theft explicitly as 'something people actually care about' -- In other words, if no one cares that you steal it, it's not theft. This, however, is not a correct definition of the word. I personally don't even have an opinion on the issue -- indeed, I tend to side with you on the issue as to 'if no one cares, does it matter?' -- However, given the nature of these forums, some people might care, BECAUSE it is still technically theft -- something I was simply pointing out.

This thread's nothing to be afraid of. Nobody's suing anybody over MUGEN characters and when a company steps up and requests that their material not be used, the MUGEN community respects it and gets rid of all the material of that company.

I had said as much in my own post already.

With that cleared up though, I really don't think we have anything to debate about beyond the definition of the word 'theft'. I agree with the general sentiments of your statements, I just don't think you phrased it well.


PS: Sorry, I'm minoring in English, so I tend to take things exactly as written. I shouldn't expect college level writing on forums, but I'm somewhat conditioned to it...

[goldenspines]

Paul Namikaze, please don't gravedig three year old threads. If you have a question, feel free to create a new thread for it and not revive old ones.
Thank you.

*locked to avoid confusion*