Assets License

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1

Hello,

around a year ago i have bought crusher balloons [MG Developments] from your asset store and used it in my game (own grafik and sounds)

i put it on the google play store (more or less to see how the google store works)

now i get a mail from google that unity or MG Developments complain that i have copied the game (crusher balloons).
im a little confused now - if i buy a asset - can i use it in my games or not ?
I have alot buyed asset - where can i see what assets i can use in my games ?
why should i ever buy an asset thats i dont allowed to use in my game ?
unity is only a hobby for me - if i need a lawer to use the asset store than im better search a another hobby…

maybe someone knows more about this license drama.

thx
Hannes

Thats the google Mail.

This is a notification that your application, CRAZY BALLOONS, with package ID at.hannes.crazyballoons, has been removed from the Google Play Store.

REASON FOR REMOVAL: Alleged copyright infringement (according to the terms of the Digital Millenium Copyright Act).

All violations are tracked. Serious or repeated violations of any nature will result in the termination of your developer account, and investigation and possible termination of related Google accounts. If your account is terminated, payments will cease and Google may recover the proceeds of any past sales and the cost of any associated fees (such as chargebacks and payment transaction fees) from you.

Please review the Developer Distribution Agreement and Content Policy to ensure that your applications are compliant with our policies.

The DMCA is a United States copyright law that provides guidelines for online service provider liability in case of copyright infringement. Click here for more information about the DMCA, and see Digital Millennium Copyright Act - Legal Help for the process that Google requires in order to make a DMCA complaint.

Google may reinstate your application into the Google Play Store upon receipt of a counter notification pursuant to sections 512(g)(2) and (3) of the DMCA. Click here for more information about the requirements of a counter notification and a link to a sample counter notification. If you have legal questions about this notification, you should retain your own legal counsel.

Please note that we have included a text copy of the Infringement Notice we received for your reference.

The Google Play Team

Text copy of DMCA complaint:
gonzalez.martin90@gmail.com
to support-portal@google.com

AutoDetectedBrowser: Google Chrome
AutoDetectedOS: Windows 7
IIILanguage: es
IssueType: lr_trademark
Language: es
address: Riobamba 141
agree1: checked
android_app_developer_1: Koschier Winkler
android_app_name_1: CRAZY BALLOONS
android_app_url_1:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=at.hannes.crazyballoons
companyname: MG Developments St
country_residence: AR
form: trademark_complaint
full_name: Martin Gonzalez
hidden_ctx:
hidden_product: googleplay
origin: helpcenter
phone: 1534332990
signature: Martin Gonzalez
signature_date_day: 27
signature_date_month: 4
signature_date_year: 2013
tm_good_faith: checked
tm_infringement_explanation: Nuevamente el juego trata de ser copiado,
tiene globos, barras, elementos directamente extraĂ­dos del juego
desarrollado por MG Developments St

IMPORTANTE: aplicacion a retirar CRAZY BALLOONS (tuve problemas
anteriormente por google elimino mi aplicacion en vez de la copia)

Muchas gracias
tm_location_and_number: En todos los que Google Play otorga
tm_swear: checked
tm_work: Crusher Balloons un juego alojado en Google Play.

your_title: Desarrollador

2

Purchasing a license gives you the rights to use the asset - that’s the whole point. Anyway, just do what they say and review your assets, make sure you have none that are infringing, and respond to that effect to the address they gave you (giving them the link to the asset you purchased).

It looks like in the complaint it was “Martin Gonzalez” that complained. Perhaps he did not read the asset store provider agreement. You can point them to it here:

and the asset store terms of service and EULA:

Here is the appropriate portion of the provider agreement that MG accepted:

Provider agrees that, pursuant to the EULA, it will grant to the Customer who acquires an Asset submitted by the Provider, a non-exclusive, worldwide, license in any medium now known or hereinafter invented to: (a) reproduce, post, modify, promote, license, sell, publicly perform, publicly display, digitally perform, or transmit the Asset for promotional and commercial purposes; (b) use any trademarks, service marks or trade names incorporated in the Asset; and © use the name and likeness of any individuals represented in the Asset.

Here is the appropriate portion of the EULA:

Licensor grants to the END-USER a non-exclusive, worldwide, and perpetual license to the Asset to integrate Assets only as incorporated and embedded components of electronic games and interactive media and distribute such electronic game and interactive media. END-USER may otherwise not reproduce, distribute, sublicense, rent, lease or lend the Assets. It is emphasized that the END-USERS shall not be entitled to distribute or transfer in any way (including, without, limitation by way of sublicense) the Assets in any other way than as integrated components of electronic games and inter- active media. Without limitation of the foregoing it is emphasized that END- USER shall not be entitled to share the costs related to purchasing an Asset and then let any third party that has contributed to such purchase use such Asset (forum pooling).

3

“Martin Gonzalez” = MG Developments.
He probably assumed that you somehow got his game from illegal sources and pushed it back to googleplay with minor modifications

But the asset store is definitely a legal source that entitles you to do what you did (last summer right?)

4

You should have full rights to do whatever you want with it. Putting it with the same gfx and sound can be reported in Google Play as it might break rules of identical apps (non Unity related) but if you used all your own gfx assets for visual it shouldn’t matter if the code and game logic is the same.

If the asset author didn’t bother to contact you first and ask for invoice number to check it I would say you should dispute the removal with Google and ask for valid quote for which Google Play rule did you break. You can attach the Unity license text and your Invoice pdf and report it back.

Anyways no matter how it will end I would go put a down vote review in the Asset Store immediately and description what happened as it might happen to someone else. Also you should report it to Asset Store managers and ask for a refund or removal. Its your Google account that got permanently tagged for breaking DMCA for no reason probably and thats not good.

5

Google play seems to be full of those DMCA stuff. Is the situation better for apple’s appstore ?

6

Have Unity team supported you with this ? What’s the point of buying assets if the author shutdown you as soon as you have some work done with it ?

7

Indeed… hope this is not an initial symptom before some generalized disease…

8

thanks all for your answers

no answer from unity - only the standard ticked number auto reply (around 10 days ago) - thats very sad
i only want an official statement from them thats i can use assets in my games with the standard EULA or i need to make a agreement with every publisher.
Without that its simple to dangerous for me to use the assets - maybe next time it get a bill about some fantasy millions $ (asset price x 100000000 Internet User) from a lawer - same than i would torrent a movie.

i have now asked google (disputed the DMCA thing) - waiting on answer there too.
i dont care the affected game - its only a “look i have an andoid game fun thing” - if it stay offline i dont care

cu
Hannes

9

You are able to use it, and even sell a direct copy of the game using all the same graphics. He transferred full rights to you when you bought the asset. Point him at the EULA agreement as mentioned, and bug Unity support about it some more. Also send the counter notification back to google play with links to the Asset Store EULA, his asset’s page, and proof of purchase. That should get them to put your game back up again.

10

I think an answer from unity moderators would be needed on this problem.
At the end of the day what made a lot of us chose unity3d engine was the asset store, otherwise Shiva or Torque3d would have been good options for much less money.

11

What is your support ticket number?

12

Hey Nethan,

The support case is with me.

I’m getting more details for you on this. Apologies for not updating you on the situation.

Kind Regards
Ben Stoneman
Unity Support

13

its
case #00124513: “asset store license”.

but allready got a short answer from Ben thats the problem/ticked is in work

thanks

14

I’d be interested to know how this gets solved, please keep it posted :slight_smile:

15

Please do.

16

Any updates on this issue?

:smile:

17

Related issue:

How do I complain about a vendor on asset store who does the following:

  1. Copies other people’s models, files and reshuffles them and resells the models as his/her own.

  2. Does not have an asset store license for many assets and banned from the forums here.

That person is very nasty person and disrespects others.

Ethics question:
Why is that person selling other people’s items, still on the asset store? How will that person give support since he is banned on the forums?

I raised this to Aurore four weeks ago.

18

Well you could start by pointing out the examples? Also i don’t see what you mean does not have an asset store license for many asset, that there’s no license info on his assets? Or that he is selling assets that he hasn’t even purchased?

May want to link both his original, could go both way? (maybe he’s the original and not the reverse etc?)

19

This is unbelievable, hes buying assets from the asset store and then throwing up DMCA complaints ( both projects hardly have any downloads anyway) and he even left a comment in the asset store of crusher balloons and it looks like it was his own asset. Are you kidding me.

You click the link to the developer page on crusher ballon and the blogger is none other then the same Martin Gonzalez

20

Aren’t you mixing things? The one who purchased is the one getting DMCA thrown at, not the other way around.