GNU Public license

[RaZzi]

Can someone please explain this to me: If I find artist that has made art under GNU public license v2 and v3(http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html)and I would like to use that in my game, am I allowed to use that art to make commercial game and provide the free art with the game or should the whole game be free?

 

[Andar]

GNU GPL is a software licence, not an art copyright. If an artist really used GNU as a template, then the artist already made a mistake - or it could also be that the art itself is under a different copyright and the GPL-Link was only provided for one specific use of the artwork, not for the artwork itself.


I think you should give a link to the artists in question for us to check.


Otherwise, artwork is usually copyrighted under different forms of other (non-GNU) common licences, and there are a lot of different variations giving different rights to change, use or handle the artwork.


EDIT:


Rereading your post, could it be that you haven't found an artist and have just assumed that GNU would cover artwork?


It usually doesn't and I don't know a single artist who used a link to GNU as a licence, because for art, you need different forms for licences...

 

[RaZzi]

I'll hit you with the link later but it was art resource page and specifically mentioned GNU public license V2 and V3.

Sent from my GT-P5210 using Tapatalk

EDIT: Sorry for the late response, this is the art I'm talking about: http://opengameart.org/content/cyclops

 

[Sharm]

Actually, some artists do use the GPL as an artistic license, but only if the art was made for a programming project.  Usually it all stems from a stubborn programmer who paid for the art or an under informed artist.  I'd just skip it, GPL is completely incompatible with RM projects, even free ones.

 

[Andar]

EDIT: Sorry for the late response, this is the art I'm talking about: http://opengameart.org/content/cyclops

If you go to that site and click on FAQ, you'll find an explanation of the different licences and their effects about one.third into the list, including the side-effects of that licence.
In this case it would be that while you're allowed to sell your project, you need to include the entire source code (no encryption allowed) and anyone who purchases it from you is also allowed to sell it to multiple others, especially if he/she modifies the game before selling it. And no, you wouldn't see anything from those sales.


So yes, including artwork under GPL is a bad idea for a commercial game - especially since the GPL was made for code and doesn't even consider the circumstances of people using it for artwork.


So as Sharm said above: a bad decision on the side of the artist, you better look for artwork released under one of the CC-Licences (also explained in that FAQ)

 

[RaZzi]

Okay, thank you very much. It was actually quite confusing that why would any artist copyright he's materials like that. Won't be using that for sure! 

 

[Shaz]

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