More questions on legal uses of FF output?

Hello - another noob here kids, great to meetcha!

I have been making texture images using the demo / trial version of FF, and quite a few user submitted plugins in the library here. Let me explain what I want to do with them:

I want to use them to make material presets ("Mats") for the DAZ 3D application "BRYCE" (Versions 5.5 to 7), which is a 3d scene / landscape / modeling / animation application available through the DAZ 3d website.

I would then like to package these new BRYCE presets, made with both BRYCE and FF (using the user submitted plugins in the library), and post / distribute the package for free on my SHARE CG page (I may also include the textures, bump maps, and normal maps that I made with FF and the library plug ins) for Bryce users and other 3D app users to use in their projects.

#1, Are the textures made from the library plugins truly ok for both commercial and personal use?

#2, Is my intended use of these outputted image textures NOT permitted by the EULA (since I have a hard time reading legalese)?

#3, What restrictions should I place upon this package that I am making for other users?

#4, Since I have already made over 200 images with FF using the user submitted plug in library, but failed to keep track of the plugin authors, would a mentioned link back to the FF website - coupled with a universal thank you to all of the plug in creators on the FF site be a suitable credit?

#5, Do I truly "own" the Filter Forge outputted images / textures, and subsequent BRYCE presets that I derive from them - or are they owned by FF / the plug in authors?

#6, In short - am I ok with doing this, or will I have to marry a really big dude on cellblock "E" at Fort Levenworth federal penitentury in order to survive prison life, lol, inquiring minds want to know!

Thank you my very new friend:

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#1 Please feel free to use any Filter Forge textures and effects in non-commercial as well as commercial purposes. Filter authors hold the copyright to the filter files proper (.ffxml files), while the copyright to the final images rendered in Filter Forge belongs to the end user, i.e. you. #2 Your untended use is permitted by the EULA. #3 It's up to you because the final images rendered in Filter Forge are your intellectual property. #4 You'd better note all the authors but in your case it would be OK to link on the Filter Forge website and thank all the authors of the filters. #5 Yes, you truly own the outputted images. #6 Marrying to a really big bad guy is NOT required. Regards, Jane

I would also suggest that you make this a sticky post - since a lot of important questions are answered here that undoubtedly many noobies - as well as maybe a scant few regular folks - may have been concerned about.

Also - I would like to learn how to make FF plug ins, is there a tutorial for beginners out there somewhere? I'm a poor boy - and I would rather barder with my talents on this one in order to snag my free copy of FF - rather than be forced to sell some of my blood - or maybe one of kidney's or something, lol

I have just made a list about this legal and copyright uses about Filter Forge

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GMM wrote If you download filters from the Filter Library and render textures using these filters, the respective filter authors will own the copyright for the filter files, and the end user holds the copyright for the final images

This list below was originally made for this thread Violation of my rights and thought that would be perhaps useful to copy it to this thread too, I hope this is no wrong and bad thing

LIST OF THREADS I HAVE FOUND

"All your filter are belong to someone else!"

This thread above has already 10 pages of comments!

Claiming "created by"

"I just can't get no respect ..."

Second Life "merchant" may have your textures

Use Of Filters?

Usage of copyrighted photos, and about Copyright and/or Royalty free

On this link above there are a lots of links about copyright and image rights

is this allowed?

Copyright Infringement?

Can you license someone's filter's outcome?


Is it ok to use Filter Forge filters from this site in ads?

Copyright Question...Sorry if this is redundant

How can i use filter forge textures

To SpaceRay:

My friend - it is NOT my intention to steal from, swindle, or con anyone. My interest is in creating textures, not pirating filters. It is my intention to simply create tools that are free for people to have, and to use.

My motivation in creating free resources for others is that I am very low income (my computer I have now was a gift from my Mother and my Brother - and the one that I had previously was purchased because my team at my then place of employment had done well enough to earn an extremely rare bonus check by virtue of exceeding our monthly / yearly quota). I sincerely hope that I have not offended anyone by giving them the impression that I am trying to do anything that is unethical.

When I am making my textures using FF, I AM changing at least a few of the settings on the filters so that the outputted textures are not identical verbatim to the advertised preset image. Although I will rename the BRYCE presets that I make from the textures that I have created using your filters - I will provide a link back to Filter Forge - and will also thank this community of filter creators as a whole - both on the packages SHARE CG page - and within the included PDF ebooklet. The credit in the PDF will read something to this effect:

"I would like to sincerely thank all of talented, generous, and thoughtful filter authors within the Filter Forge user's community - to whom without their efforts, dedication, generosity, and talent - this package would not be possible."

In passing - and as an afterthought - being an artist myself I can certainly appreciate people being concerned about how their work is being used and distributed, but from the FF user's perspective - I can also understand how unfair it would seem to be - to be provided with such a wonderful set of tools and filter effects - but to have them seem pointless and unuseable because the texture images created were not at liberty to be truly useable from a legal standpoint.

It would be like someone giving you a beautiful, delicious, mouth watering chocolate cake - and then afterwards saying to you "ok - here - you can hang on to this - but don't eat it or your going to be in serious trouble".

Why should it be immoral or unethical to use something in the way that it is intended to be used - and to then control the produced output unfettered?

Thank you Mardar.

My SHARE CG Gallery is at:

Bill's SHARE CG gallery

And here's an example of my artwork:

Thank you Mardar, below is an example of my hand drawn fine line stuff. I am kinda thinking about starting a Deviant Art account. I am also interested in learning how to make filters, but I may have to do a reinstall of the 30 day trial after it expires to have enough time to get up to speed. If I can get some filters made for FF - then you have it here in writing that I won't give a hoot how you use them - no strings at all (except for the standard FF licensing).:

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Skybase It's not a legal issue pertaining to copyright since the original question regards the output, not the filter itself. It's an ethical and moral issue. Those links you provided are basically our past discussions regarding usage. The answer is always the same on legal grounds.

It´s true that these threads are all old ones and the question here is regarding if it allowed to use the output of the filter. As has been said it is allowed by Filter Forge Inc. and as you say another thing is the ethical and moral issue, and if you should do it or not. And I agree that the answer is always the same one.

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Bill Roach To SpaceRay: My friend - it is NOT my intention to steal from, swindle, or con anyone. My interest is in creating textures, not pirating filters. It is my intention to simply create tools that are free for people to have, and to use.

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Bill Roach I sincerely hope that I have not offended anyone by giving them the impression that I am trying to do anything that is unethical.

I did not feel that you wanted to make something unethical and this is why I have not said anything about it, and only offered the information to be evaluated and to know more about it and so you (and anyone else too) can decide. Sorry if I you thought that this was my intention, which was not.

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Bill Roach "I would like to sincerely thank all of talented, generous, and thoughtful filter authors within the Filter Forge user's community - to whom without their efforts, dedication, generosity, and talent - this package would not be possible."

YES! I agree and I also want to thank them in the same way, as they have made a very creative, innovative, clever and awesome works and shared them for free in the FF Library and also in the forum, and without all this hard work, dedication, generosity, talent, skills and time they have spent FF would not be the same at all.

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Bill Roach Why should it be immoral or unethical to use something in the way that it is intended to be used - and to then control the produced output unfettered?

For me the only unethical and wrong thing is from the persons that want to have a filter that renders a already finished work from a preset from a filter or slightly modified settings, just using the render and then without adding nothing else from himself and just using the result to make business and earn money from it. And what is worse is then saying that this is HIS/HER own work and not giving any credit to the author or filter forge when the only they have done is just render the result of a filter that they NOT make.

I agree and is not unethical to use the result as an artist and modify and use them in your own works and then you can sell if you want, but not just straight through the filter result.

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Mardar I know a "Thank you" always makes my day when someone uses my filters. So please don't think that you are doing anything wrong. You took the time to ask what is allowed and that is more than most do.

Is true that is good to know that and a great thing that if someone says thank you or likes your filter and has been useful, is a pleasure to know that your work was done well. And I agree that you have ASKED BEFORE what is allowed and what maybe don´t before doing it, which I also think is much more than most do and that do not care about it.

If you read it right, I have NOT said anywhere that your intentions were bad and that you wanted to steal from the works from the FF authors, and did not thought it this way, sorry if it seems to be this way, what I wanted is just to show all the information available to help you and see what was happening now and before and so you could find the right answer, as I am not the one that have it.