If I'm forced to give attribution, how is that free?
Posted: 06 Feb 2017, 17:51
I have seen that some games that are supposed to be free are using Creative Common licenses that requires "attribution" for their image and sound files. I fail to see how this could be considered free because it forces you to give attribution, unless I have misunderstood something.
What exactly do they mean by "any reasonable manner requested by the licensor"? Do they really mean to say that the original author can request how I should show the information in my game, or are they only referring to what information should be included in the attribution? Who decides what is "reasonable"? Is it a legal term?
They say I "may" satisfy the conditions "in any reasonable manner based on the medium". Is this a requirement or only a suggestion? To me, as a non-native English speaker, the word "may" makes it sound like I can do it if I want, but don't have to. What is reasonable based on the medium is also not very clear but I suspect for a game that means you would actually have to give credits inside the game, is that so? In my opinion that would be a violation of my freedom to design a game the way I want (without in-game credits).
CC-BY-SA v4.0 {l Wrote}:Section 3 – License Conditions.
Your exercise of the Licensed Rights is expressly made subject to the following conditions.
- Attribution.
- If You Share the Licensed Material (including in modified form), You must:
- retain the following if it is supplied by the Licensor with the Licensed Material:
- identification of the creator(s) of the Licensed Material and any others designated to receive attribution, in any reasonable manner requested by the Licensor (including by pseudonym if designated);
- ...
- ...
- You may satisfy the conditions in Section 3(a)(1) in any reasonable manner based on the medium, means, and context in which You Share the Licensed Material. For example, it may be reasonable to satisfy the conditions by providing a URI or hyperlink to a resource that includes the required information.
- ...
What exactly do they mean by "any reasonable manner requested by the licensor"? Do they really mean to say that the original author can request how I should show the information in my game, or are they only referring to what information should be included in the attribution? Who decides what is "reasonable"? Is it a legal term?
They say I "may" satisfy the conditions "in any reasonable manner based on the medium". Is this a requirement or only a suggestion? To me, as a non-native English speaker, the word "may" makes it sound like I can do it if I want, but don't have to. What is reasonable based on the medium is also not very clear but I suspect for a game that means you would actually have to give credits inside the game, is that so? In my opinion that would be a violation of my freedom to design a game the way I want (without in-game credits).