Square Enix enacts a "Materials Usage License" for upcoming FFXIV: A Realm Reborn

[Griffolion]

[a href="http://support.na.square-enix.com/rule.php?id=5382&la=1&tag=authc"]Source[/a]

Full Text:

Final Fantasy XIV ("FFXIV") is comprised of materials such as art, text and logos that are copyrighted and/or trademarked. Square Enix Co., Ltd.,and Square Enix, Inc. (collectively "Square Enix") grants you permission to utilize certain materials as specified below (the "Materials") on a non-commercial basis, for the purpose of supporting and developing the Final Fantasy XIV community, in accordance to the following terms andconditions.
Please read these terms and conditions carefully. The use or distribution of the Materials from Final Fantasy XIV and/or Final Fantasy XIV-related services, on your or third party homepages, blogs, social networking services, is conditional upon your acceptance of these terms and conditions.

Copyrighted and Trademarked Materials

This License applies to the following Materials:
All art, text, logos, videos, screenshots, images, sounds, music and recordings from FFXIV;
All art, text, logos, videos, screenshots, images, sounds, music and recordings from the official FFXIV website, official forums or any other official Square Enix channel;
The Final Fantasy XIV Fankit;
The following audio soundtracks: FINAL FANTASY XIV: Battle Tracks, FINAL FANTASY XIV: Field Tracks, FINAL FANTASY XIV: Frontiers, and Before Meteor: FINAL FANTASY XIV Original Soundtrack.

General Guidelines

These guidelines apply to any and all use of the Materials:
You may not use the Materials for any sales or commercial use;
If you use a trademark (such as "Final Fantasy" or any related logo), then you must include a notice saying that the mark is owned by Square Enix, such as the following:
FINAL FANTASY is a registered trademark of Square Enix Holdings Co., Ltd.
If you use any copyrighted Materials (such as screenshots or gameplay video), then you must include the following notice:
FINAL FANTASY XIV c 2010-2013 SQUARE ENIX CO., LTD. All Rights Reserved.
You may not sell the Materials to third parties as original content;
You may not use the Materials to promote other commercial products;
You may not materially alter or modify the Materials, except:
You may add your own voice-over, and you may edit, combine, mash-up, mix and match the Materials with other FFXIV Materials;
You may not alter, remove or conceal any trademark or copyright notices that may be included in the Materials;
You must immediately comply with any request by Square Enix to remove any Materials, in Square Enix's sole discretion;
You agree not to use any Materials in conjunction with any of the following: unapproved Square Enix assets; counterfeit merchandise; pornography; unlicensed Square Enix music available for streaming or download, or links to unlicensed Square Enix music available for streaming or download.

Guidelines for Videos

The video must not require a paid membership for viewing;
You may not monetize your video via the YouTube partner program or any similar programs on other video sharing sites.
You may not split our videos (vocal, music, visual, etc.) and distribute components as separate assets;
You may not combine or synchronize the Materials with third party content (e.g., a mash-up), but you may include the Materials alongside third party content (e.g., before or after in the same video) as long as you also have permission from the original copyright owner);
The video must not contain racist, sexist, homophobic or generally offensive content of any kind. This includes graphic violence or sexually explicit content.

Guidelines for Music and Sounds

You may only use music as it is incorporated in FFXIV;
When showing gameplay, you may not replace the FFXIV music with third party music;
You may not play FFXIV music alone (i.e., without accompanying gameplay footage), or with third party materials;
You may not use the song track entitled "Answers."

Disclaimer and Other Legal Notes

The Materials are provided 'as is.' Square Enix does not make any representations or warranties regarding the Materials, whether express, implied (either in fact or by operation of law), or statutory. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this Agreement, Square Enix will not, under any circumstances, be liable to you for consequential, incidental, special, or exemplary damages arising out of or related to the transaction contemplated under this License, including but not limited to lost profits or loss of business, even if Square Enix is apprised of the likelihood of such damages occurring.
This is the entire Agreement between Square Enix and you with respect to the subject matter hereof, and this agreement supersedes any prior written or verbal agreements. You agree to its terms by using any Materials (as identified above), and to any changes to this Agreement by using any Materials after such changes are posted. The laws of the State of California, but not the choice of law principles, shall govern this Agreement. You hereby irrevocably consent to the exclusive jurisdiction and venue of the federal and state courts in Los Angeles County, California, in connection with any action arising out of or in connection with this agreement.

Total Biscuit has already given his two cents regarding it:
What are your thoughts, Escapists?

 

[Sam Lowry]

You may not use the song track entitled "Answers.

I wonder why only this track?

 

[wintercoat]

I...see nothing wrong with this. I mean, it's a bit more strict than other copyright terms, but not all that different. Am I missing something? Did I miss the paragraph where you give Squeenix your soul if you use any of their copyrighted material?

 

[GloatingSwine]

For the majority of high volume youtube and twitch streamers that's their job. As in it is what they do in order to make money to feed themselves and their families.

If they can't monetise FF14 content, then they simply can't do anything with it, because they can't make money off it, and why would you turn up at your job if you weren't getting paid?


NB: There are shitloads of games I would never have bought if I didn't hear about it through a Youtube/twitch streamer. Since no-one will be streaming FFXIV I will have no metric by which to judge whether it's going to be any good, so I'll never play it. Oh well, Square can't have my money I guess.

 

[shrekfan246]

I...see nothing wrong with this. I mean, it's a bit more strict than other copyright terms, but not all that different. Am I missing something? Did I miss the paragraph where you give Squeenix your soul if you use any of their copyrighted material?

Well, it means there likely won't be any video reviews or coverage of the game. To be fair, it's had a fair amount of exposure already just due to how shite the launch of XIV originally was, but I imagine that also left a pretty big black mark on the name itself, and if A Realm Reborn is a much better title with the same stigma still attached (and by most accounts it is a much better game) people actually interested in the new launch aren't going to be able to find any information on the actual game itself except for whatever sparse, hand-picked moments Square picks out themselves.

Just because it may or may not be any more strict than what other people do doesn't make it a good idea. Video coverage on Youtube is likely one of the best ways to spread awareness about your game, since it's free advertising; shutting down the biggest commentators because you don't want them making money off of ads is just silly.

 

[Thr33X]

I...see nothing wrong with this. I mean, it's a bit more strict than other copyright terms, but not all that different. Am I missing something? Did I miss the paragraph where you give Squeenix your soul if you use any of their copyrighted material?

Well, it means there likely won't be any video reviews or coverage of the game. To be fair, it's had a fair amount of exposure already just due to how shite the launch of XIV originally was, but I imagine that also left a pretty big black mark on the name itself, and if A Realm Reborn is a much better title with the same stigma still attached (and by most accounts it is a much better game) people actually interested in the new launch aren't going to be able to find any information on the actual game itself except for whatever sparse, hand-picked moments Square picks out themselves.

Just because it may or may not be any more strict than what other people do doesn't make it a good idea. Video coverage on Youtube is likely one of the best ways to spread awareness about your game, since it's free advertising; shutting down the biggest commentators because you don't want them making money off of ads is just silly.

And this is why Square Enix continues to lose money. Terrible way to handle what could be a big deal for them.

 

[wintercoat]

I...see nothing wrong with this. I mean, it's a bit more strict than other copyright terms, but not all that different. Am I missing something? Did I miss the paragraph where you give Squeenix your soul if you use any of their copyrighted material?

Well, it means there likely won't be any video reviews or coverage of the game. To be fair, it's had a fair amount of exposure already just due to how shite the launch of XIV originally was, but I imagine that also left a pretty big black mark on the name itself, and if A Realm Reborn is a much better title with the same stigma still attached (and by most accounts it is a much better game) people actually interested in the new launch aren't going to be able to find any information on the actual game itself except for whatever sparse, hand-picked moments Square picks out themselves.

Just because it may or may not be any more strict than what other people do doesn't make it a good idea. Video coverage on Youtube is likely one of the best ways to spread awareness about your game, since it's free advertising; shutting down the biggest commentators because you don't want them making money off of ads is just silly.

I'm...not seeing where it says this. It says that you can't show footage of the game without the ingame music, and vice versa. Will it really kill viewer numbers if they can't play the latest dubstep remix/generic rock music over their footage?

Aaaaand then I went and reread it, just to be safe and noticed the "You may not monetize your video via the YouTube partner program or any similar programs on other video sharing sites." part, which I somehow missed the first time around. Guess I did miss the soul selling part of the License. Yeah, the fuck is wrong with you Squeenix?

 

[StriderShinryu]

I'm wondering if there's any more room in the wayback machine since Nintendo and Square seem to have it fully occupied.

Basically what they're saying is that you can cover their game however you like.. except you can't do anything creative with it or can't use it as part of your profession. If you want to do a video review of it or a Let's Play, that's fine, you just can't actually get paid for dping so. That's a pretty big problem as it will severely restrict the number of people willing to cover the game and also it will severely restrict the number of people that it gets exposed to. It's backwards thinking that doesn't belong in 2013, especially when you're talking about something like an MMO.

Just as an anecdote, I'm currently playing Guild Wars 2. I got into it about 6 months ago, which is long after much of the official PR video content had come and gone. What got me interested in giving it a try? Video content from YouTube content creators that covered the game as part of their job and monetized the content. If GW2 has not been covered by them, there's a pretty good chance I never would have picked up the game. Just saying.

 

[WoW Killer]

There must be a little bit more to this story.

By default you cannot monitise videos involving game footage. You need to first gain permission from the copyright holder. In most cases, that means contacting them yourself and getting permission. I know of only a handful of developers that have given blanket permission to use their content. Furthermore a license agreement like this one, which is there for every player, can be overwritten by any individual agreement you come to with the developers.

Case in point:

Just as an anecdote, I'm currently playing Guild Wars 2. I got into it about 6 months ago, which is long after much of the official PR video content had come and gone. What got me interested in giving it a try? Video content from YouTube content creators that covered the game as part of their job and monetized the content. If GW2 has not been covered by them, there's a pretty good chance I never would have picked up the game. Just saying.

Funnily enough the default user license for Guild Wars 2 also prohibits you from monotising content. See here: https://www.guildwars2.com/en/legal/guild-wars-2-content-terms-of-use/

The content must be used in a non-commercial context

You agree that you will not alter, disassemble, decompile, reverse-engineer or in any other way modify the content

You agree that ArenaNet has the right to require removal of our content at any time, for any reason

How were people allowed to monitise their videos? Because they contacted ArenaNet and were given permission to do so. The default license doesn't prevent anyone from reaching an alternative agreement individually.

So as I say, I think there's more to the story. From what TB says, it sounds like they're not letting Jesse release the content that he wants to. That seems strange. I mean Jesse is so enthusiastic about upcoming MMOs that Zenimax practically begged him to cover TESO. And he's a big FF fan to boot. So I dunno anyway. Clearly there's been some disagreement, but it's not actually anything to do with that license. That's just for commoners like you and me. The big YouTubers, particularly those who are parts of networks like Machinima and Polaris, they get their own agreements.

 

[Ruzinus]

Illegal move that will stand because it will never get to any court.

They're shooting themselves in the foot. Might not matter. The amount that it hurts their revenue might go unnoticed, as it seems to be selling plenty anyway.

 

[wintercoat]

There must be a little bit more to this story.

By default you cannot monitise videos involving game footage. You need to first gain permission from the copyright holder. In most cases, that means contacting them yourself and getting permission. I know of only a handful of developers that have given blanket permission to use their content. Furthermore a license agreement like this one, which is there for every player, can be overwritten by any individual agreement you come to with the developers.

Yeah, but Youtube already does this and it extends to those under their partner program. That's one of the reasons why the Youtube Partner Program was started in the first place, to make getting the permission easier for people. This outright states that those types of programs can't be used.

 

[illutian]

Another issue is all the written reviews will be Ad-rich. Whether it be a magazine or online article...._they_ can make money off a review of FF14ARR, but a YouTuber/Podcaster can't....where's the logic there?

 

[KarmaTheAlligator]

There must be a little bit more to this story.

By default you cannot monitise videos involving game footage. You need to first gain permission from the copyright holder. In most cases, that means contacting them yourself and getting permission. I know of only a handful of developers that have given blanket permission to use their content. Furthermore a license agreement like this one, which is there for every player, can be overwritten by any individual agreement you come to with the developers.

Yeah, but Youtube already does this and it extends to those under their partner program. That's one of the reasons why the Youtube Partner Program was started in the first place, to make getting the permission easier for people. This outright states that those types of programs can't be used.

But doesn't that mean that regular Youtube is still good, though? Sure, people won't be able to make money out of it without contacting Squeenix first, but it could still lead to plenty of advertisement.

 

[Roxas1359]

But doesn't that mean that regular Youtube is still good, though? Sure, people won't be able to make money out of it without contacting Squeenix first, but it could still lead to plenty of advertisement.

Pretty much this. They also have a somewhat similar message in Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 before going to the game select screen actually. Just means really that people can't make money off of it, and since I don't monetize any videos of mine I'm in the clear!
Of course the song thing kinda sucks, but then again YouTube isn't the only place for uploading game walkthroughs and videos. There's also Game Anyone for example.

 

[wintercoat]

There must be a little bit more to this story.

By default you cannot monitise videos involving game footage. You need to first gain permission from the copyright holder. In most cases, that means contacting them yourself and getting permission. I know of only a handful of developers that have given blanket permission to use their content. Furthermore a license agreement like this one, which is there for every player, can be overwritten by any individual agreement you come to with the developers.

Yeah, but Youtube already does this and it extends to those under their partner program. That's one of the reasons why the Youtube Partner Program was started in the first place, to make getting the permission easier for people. This outright states that those types of programs can't be used.

But doesn't that mean that regular Youtube is still good, though? Sure, people won't be able to make money out of it without contacting Squeenix first, but it could still lead to plenty of advertisement.

The majority of reviewers on Youtube are either part of the partner program or affiliated with Machinima or another such site. And most of them make a living off of it. It's actually quite lucrative to become a Youtube partner. If they can't place the ads on their videos, they lose out on a decent amount of revenue. It comes down to costs. For them, it's a waste of not only time, but money, to record, edit and post a video they can't monetize, and most will most likely not bother.

 

[KarmaTheAlligator]

The majority of reviewers on Youtube are either part of the partner program or affiliated with Machinima or another such site. And most of them make a living off of it. It's actually quite lucrative to become a Youtube partner. If they can't place the ads on their videos, they lose out on a decent amount of revenue. It comes down to costs. For them, it's a waste of not only time, but money, to record, edit and post a video they can't monetize, and most will most likely not bother.

Yeah, I get the reviewer part, but I'm talking about Regular Joe here. We'll still be seeing a lot of videos showing the game and what it has to offer, so we're not losing much.

 

[The Lunatic]

The keyword here is that they can't monetize it.

Basically, if you have a video on Youtube with FFXIV stuff in it, you can't enable ads.


Not seeing the issue there, honestly.

 

[llubtoille]

"for upcoming FFXIV: A Realm Reborn"? it's been out for like a week XD
but yeah, silly of them to essentially ban videos of their game,
a lot of people like to check out the gameplay videos before making an investment, doubly so for MMOs where the company released videos rarely tell enough (or the true story) about the actual game.
It's all well and good to have pretty graphics, but if character control is like riding a skyrim horse...

 

[illutian]

The keyword here is that they can't monetize it.

Basically, if you have a video on Youtube with FFXIV stuff in it, you can't enable ads.


Not seeing the issue there, honestly.

Someone like AngryJoe, who shows games in the background as he reviews can't get paid. I dare you to go to work and tell you boss you're working for free 'today' and 'tomorrow'.

Why 'tomorrow'? Because in the time it takes a YouTube Reviewer to film, edit, review, and then upload a video they can't monetize (out of money 'today'). They could have been working on another review that they *can* get paid for (out of money 'tomorrow').

Now someone who's playing like I am, not kidding..shouldn't be able to monetize. But someone (ie AngryJoe), who's doing an *VIDEO* review can't; oh, but if it was *WRITTEN* by, say, PC Gaming (magazine division), they could print it and show it in a hardcopy that also contains paid advertising.

Oh and if there was still a 'Gaming TV' channel, they could run it [review] and, of course, have commericals (aka ads)

Double-standards are bullshit.

 

[Roxas1359]

snip

Knowing Square they'll probably work out certain deals with networks, which Joe is a part of I'm pretty sure. Otherwise it'd be a terrible PR experience for them, especially after how bad it was for Nintendo when they did it back in May, but have since then backed off on it.

And thank you for understanding the amount of editing that some people actually put into their videos because whenever I see people claiming how easy it is it gets me a little mad. Of course I have a bias since I do Let's Plays a lot and depending on the game I put time into the editing.