[MUD-Dev] User-created content ownership

[Edward Glowacki]

After reading an article on GameSpy today

  http://www.gamespy.com/gdc2002/mmog/

I was inspired to think about content ownership in a game where
users can create their own content.  I think the key is for whoever
is running the game to not be greedy, and define up-front what the
user's rights are.  Here's the whole thing in detail, and feedback
is appreciated:


Statement of the problem
========================

>From http://www.gamespy.com/gdc2002/mmog/index4.shtm

  "If you create something spectacular within a game world, is that
  your property? Or does it belong forever to the game publisher?
  More importantly, who owns your online persona?"


Proposal for a content ownership system 
=======================================

Definitions used herein
-----------------------

    Player - Real person, sits at the computer, controls the
    Character, etc.  Out-of-game entity.
    
    Character - Avatar created and controlled by the Player.
    In-game entity.
    
    Object - Anything created by the Player, including objects,
    meta-objects (like spells, effects, bots, etc.), places, actions,
    speech, or the Player's Character.  In-game entity.
    
    Game - The game itself and its direct replacements (not spinoffs,
    just things like "Version 2") where most of the content
    and Characters are transferred.  This definition is the most
    important, since it defines the scope of the majority of the
    Objects' rights.
    
    Company - Entity that owns the Game and its content. Out-of-game
    entity.


Basic categories of licensing/ownership
---------------------------------------

    Player Owned - The Player has all rights to an Object, and the
    Company has none.

    One World - The Player has most of the rights to an Object,
    but the Company can fully use it within the scope of the Game.

    Company Owned - The Player forfeits all rights to an Object,
    and the content is owned by Company.  This may involve some sort of
    payment scheme for the Company to obtain the rights.


Using levels of ownership, licensing, and permission
----------------------------------------------------

Neither side can take away rights from the other side without
consent, but may freely give rights to the other side.  For example
a Company can arbitrarily say that an Object of type One World is
now Player Owned, but the Company can not claim that same Object
to be Company Owned.

Some permissions may change automatically, but situations where
this happens should be made known in advance, and permissions of
Objects may never exceed One World without the consent of the Player.

The basis of this system is that Players generally own their own
content, but the Company still retains some rights to use that content
within the current Game.  This is to prevent users from creating
a lot of stuff and suddenly deciding to leave the game and thereby
destroy a large portion of the Game universe and radically affect
other Players.

Another way to think of it is that most objects created by Players
initially belong to the Game, not to the Company.  They are part
of the Game universe and can be used there indefinitely, but they
need additional, explicit rights to exist outside the Game.


Settings for licenses
---------------------

Here are some Objects and possible initial license settings for them.

Default (unless otherwise specified) = One World

Characters = Player Owned while the Character is active, automatically
changes to One World after the Player's account for that Character
expires.

Events/Actions/Speech/etc. from private channels = Player Owned


Optional considerations
=======================

It may be desirable to specify other levels of licensing/ownership,
which may be useful in some situations:

    Likeness - The Player has most of the rights to an Object, but
    the Company can use its likeness or general info (analogous to
    using a photo and demographic information respecitvely) within
    the existing Game, but not in any other product.  This does not
    include *everything* about the Object, just some of its shell
    and key external components.

    Shared - The Player and the Company share rights to an Object.
    The Object can be used by both parties within the current Game
    and without, i.e. in game spinoffs, or user-authored books,
    etc.  This may involve some sort of payment scheme for the Company 
    to obtain the rights.


--
Edward Glowacki			glowack2 at msu.edu
Michigan State University	
"...a partial solution to the right problem is better than a complete
solution to the wrong one." (http://uiweb.com/issues/issue14.htm)

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