Now that Rowlan’s thread on stolen or copied assets has been shut down, where can we go to be enlightened on such matters?
Report it to Unity… Which is the proper way to do it… and to the author/company that you think made the art asset… if they are in fact ripping, pirating…
Copying you can’t do anything about, that is life and part of the industry…
“proper” is a nice word, but works only if you’re being taken seriously by Unity.
Example: I reported an asset that clearly showed the Batmobile. The asset was titled “Batmobile”. For an ultra low price. Clearly the publisher had no license to sell it. What did I get back from Unity after weeks of wait for my support ticket to be processed? If I’m the license owner I should fill out a DMCA complaint.
Same for e. g. Lightsabers. It was “the only lightsabers on the asset store” as the publisher advertised. And this is not about the object itself, it’s about the impudence of selling assets like that while others could do the same and definitely better, but they hold back simply because it’s illegal.
Or like Scar in the other thread.
Clearly assets like that are not allowed to be sold. Yet Unity allows it. And take their share of the money and become complicit that way.
This week a publisher resurfaced which was already banned 2 times with other names. Just a different name again this time. Same method. I reported the publisher. Will be interesting to see how long it takes Unity to take the publisher down. In the meantime while my ticket is being processed, which takes 3 weeks currently, hard working customers spend money on those assets and won’t get their money back after the publisher was banned because the Asset Store limit for refunding money for pirated assets is 1 month.
@zombiegorilla better lock this one as well before it escalates 
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There probably is a lot of legalize that makes it complicated for Unity to really comment on some things. I am not a creator, just a consumer, but one thing that disturbs me is when things I own are removed from the asset store, and then when I go to the item page it just says it is no longer available with no reason given. So then we are left not knowing if it is safe to use it legally, or if there was some tech issue.
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i’d be interested to follow some github repo or twitter feed, that reports these kind of assets…
It’s fine as long as things remain civil.
It is worth bearing in mind that typically Unity reacts only when the owner requests a take down, though they have certainly acted on obvious stuff on occasion.
The value in a thread/list like this isn’t just getting pirated stuff off the store, it is all to call to light potentially problematic assets. Sort of a heads up for those looking to purchase an asset. (and not getting bitten the ass later).
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There is alot of legal aspects, parts that you may not understand, unless you work with contracts and this work professionally, and this is not to put anyone down… as I said in the last thread… I seen people career destroyed, for people CLAIMING work was stolen because it “LOOKS” like something, which is not illegal…
Now, if someone in fact did RIP something, and use something that is illegal, as I said, before, the proper way is to find the author…Report it to them, not sure what that is so hard… .LARGER companies easier to find them and those artist… They can file a report and with proof, Unity can be in trouble legally if they don’t remove… Unity is following the law… You may NOT not like it, but each country also has its own law…
If you are that worried about it, if you are selling a game say on Steam, have a contract protecting you and your company if you have one. Same with solo artist. Some people may not like it, and you should know I don’t protect wrong doing…
As far as “BATMOBILE” That should not be allowed I would agree with you, that is an illegal art, but anyone should know better as well… The only way its NOT illegal if it was “free” or being used for education… Be sure to read the license as well. .
Is said this before, there is a AAA company, that has "STOLEN my UI Design and used in a very popular games and there as NOT a damn thing I could do about it, due to these laws and such… it was 100% my design and stolen . So i’m not saying I condone things that people do, and ethically its wrong… I don’t disagree with alot of what your saying at all… When it comes to ripped or illegal art… Code is no different, I seen alot of code stolen, from other assets and no thing is done… This happens all over the net, but to “PROVE” its yours is another story…
Artist need to get smarter , and people need to stop saying copying is illegal because its NOT. Ripping is, so those are two different things. if Unity was not doing things lawfully they would be sued by now by companies and others… They are following the law… and I don’t always stick up for Unity, this is not about sticking up for Unity, this is following the" PROPER process and the law. Talk to your lawyer, who deals with your contracts and company, they will guide you through each country and the process, that is what companies and professionals do…
For solo artist, and others, you can find a affordable, lawyer as well for this information, so I suggest to do that… This can be a double edge sword, which is before claiming someone "STOLE something you SHOULD be taking proper steps yes… No one likes to be called a thief with out proof.
I agree alot of people do steal …Sadly this is the nature of man and business… I live in the US, alot of people are always STEALING the"little guys ideas and work.
Anyways. I agree with alot of what your doing though, but you guys are going about it the wrong way is all…
I agree but to say something is problemetic just because it looks like something, should be another matter… Which is where I seen to many artist career destroyed… The new thing is on STeam, people are calling games FAKE now… No idea why someone would make a fake game and pay to do it and not make money, but this is the new thing…
People are trying to call everything, and discredit it… I’m all for it, if its in fact 100% not legal or trade mark. If it is trade mark by the way some of us as professional have the legal right to do so, from our own contracts as well, something I bet alot of people don’t know… You can contact the car makers and get rights… (I have rights that is how I know as a professional…)
PUBG, tried suing Epic over there so called Design…Yet they where making a game with a SHOOTING mechanic… and building ( runtime) , like RUST… So my point, we shouldn’t be allowing nonsense, like this "LOOKS like something… with out Unity, the Author looking into it…
If something is a problem, like Rowlan brought up the “BATMOBILE” Yes sure that crap should be told… but to say a car, is , its not. or to say a design “LOOKS” the same, or looks like something in a game… That crap should NOT be aloud… We are Developers, that run companies, have to put down stuff like that in our credits at the start of a game , you should see that at the start of most games for this reason
because someone is always “CLAIMING” the person looks like a famous person or something looks like another game design, that is legal, so spreading wrong information can hurt someone making a living with in the law and legally… Rumors, and wrong information, hurts honest business all the time, or if someone has there OWN Agenda, to hurt someone, which I do see on Unity forums from time to time over the years…
So legit obvious stuff, I’m all for it being called out 100%… people are to quick, to call out legit stuff as illegal is all i’m saying. I can’t stand people pirating or stealing others hard work … So I agree with others, with calling out people who are in fact 100% a thief.
PS: I don’t sell stuff on the asset store nor will I ever. But its unfair to those that are trying to make a living if they are with in the law… unless they are trying to sell trade mark stuff like “BATMOBILE” or something like it…
That I don’t get, who ever is looking at the assets, should know better…when they are approving them… my 8 year old know who Batman is , so no real excuse there… I agree with Rowlan for calling that out…
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100%, Unity has handled this badly… They should refund anyone, from illegal art and let users know that it is… Other wise, Unity as I said in the other post, have a contract with its users clearing them from any wrong doing , if you use illegal art, meaning, if they sold you art, and you didn’t know it was illegal, that they bare the responsibility… not you.
I do this when I did contract work, if someone, I hire, makes art and I don’t know that its ripped or stolen, I won’t be sued, that in fact that artist I hired will be X more times over… This protects you… and Unity shouldn’t have a problem, if they checked this art out better and code… What Unity could do in return is do the same to the AUTHOR selling the art, so they are protected… This would cause thieves to NOT steal art, or try and sell it…
They can also make sure the artist, programmer, is legit …as well many ways to do this… if we contractors and companies can do it, so can Unity…
I agree with you 100% here Rowlan on this part, this is not my dispute… Its the copying aspects is where my issue lies, just to be clear… I have no dispute about this stuff or ripping, trade mark stuff. Unity should be ashamed of them selves for allowing this stuff…
but I would contact the companies that make that stuff, and report it… I doubt that will like that someone is making money off there trade mark… as I said… which is proper… you said Unity, well as I said contact the AUTHOR/COMPANY… I have a few times and it was handled… in a few stores over the years…
Here you go Rowlan https://www.dccomics.com/contact
I will report it as well.
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I know I am probably wrong on this … But, What about consumer protection ? Most companies have to be
sure what ever they are selling are not going to hurt the person that buy’s " what ever " …
So I think there should be some kind of legal recourse, if* you buy a stolen asset from Unity, then put it in your
published game … if Unity pulls the asset for stolen and Does NOT notify all the people that bought that…
AND then the Real owner of said asset sues you, since you have a popular game out " haha " …
and now you are being sued Because Unity A: allowed stolen assets on their store B: DID not Tell you
that it is a stolen asset at the First opportunity as soon as they know for sure it is stolen.
If I had to go to court, because Unity Knew and did not tell me something I used in my game was sold to me
by them, BUT i was buying stolen goods… I would do my best with a lawyer to make sure it
was Unity that had to pay any and all court costs to me, since I was not the one who did this.
As far as I know, " Not knowing " is not a legal defense, lest in Canada.
Edit: Perhaps the legal owners of an asset should sue Unity for selling their asset and
not paying them. This would be super easy to prove how many " units " were sold
of their asset. Back in the day, the argument would be, IF* Unity had made sure
" Knowing " who really owned the asset, Then it follows that the real author, lost all
those sales , becasue of Unity.
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Ya, that is the issue for sure, which is why I make it important for any one I hire that if I get sued and they sold me false or stolen art, they are going to get sued by me, I made a contract of this. to protect my games and myself. Unity needs to re-think this as well… They should have this also on there site that if someone that they sell third party stuff to, that if that user sells and say I use it, that, I can then sue Unity and Unity can sue the person who made it. This solves this.
I used this for decades with my company and a lawyer recommend I do this and it protected me, Unity needs to talk to there legal team, and set up something like it as well, so it protects the people buying from them.
So I agree and said this many times in my post as well, that this needs to be done… as the person buying it as no way of really knowing what they are buying, due to the scams now a days…
I personally don’t buy art, for one because I know how to make it, and have for years, but also I don’t because of scams… Alot of them… but I do agree all of these stores, need to do a better job, protecting what is being sold, as its easy for someone to make a successful game and lose it all because of NOT knowing…
This is why I also speak out and tell people to CONTACT companies and Author anytime they sell, something that may be ripped,/stolen… I had seem some minecraft art that was, and I contacted them and they right away reached out and them to remove it…
Some advice, some of you may or may not like it…
But, hire an experience artist, and have them go through any art that you are using in your game, a good artist will be able to tell if its legit or not… This is the best way to protect your self as well… it may be a little costly but I had many people from Unity, Unreal and AA, AAA over the years hire me to consult ( retired now) and some of it would involve to see what is legit, optimized and so forth… This is going to be your best bet. to be honest, as I doubt Unity will do much here, but you can try to ask Unity, what you can do… it shouldn’t be buy at your own risk, but it has been here for years sadly… and not just Unity but other stores… That is why its important to have a senior artist, on your team that knows better… This is the best advice I can share . it will help save your company and your investment at the end of the day… its worth it to do it…
if your game starts to get popular, right away get someone in and check everything… if its questionable, pull it out…ASAP…
7 days to die, paid the price for using someone elses art and didn’t know it… They didn’t know better… from my understanding. and someone pulled a fast one. So don’t be cheap and let this happen, hire an senior artist and not just any artist, hire one that has been around for years and know most games and what to look for…
PS: I hired someone and caught them ripping and also using someone else code before…Lucky I have the experience, and was able to catch him…( he was sued) even though, I didn’t lose money, from the game as it was NOT out yet, I did lose money from the work done and time… So, I was able to get my money back… So there are alot of scammers out there… Also be wary of those so -called artist, selling "game ready " art… When I did consulting, I seen sooo much of this… Ugh… So,some of you may think this artist is 20$ and hour and this one is 50$ an hr and I will go with the 20$ because he is cheaper…Don’t do that, check that artist out and his/her references… If you get a good artist, this will help you protect your game/investment… and hire a good lawyer to handle the legal aspects…Some people want to be cheap about it, well many companies went under for being “cheap”…Do it right or you may lose everything for short cutting.
Just saying. but I agree Mark !00%
They don’t and they won’t:
Asset Store Provider Agreement
At max they take an asset down because someone filed a DMCA complaint.
Take eg this post:
https://discussions.unity.com/t/853639 page-2#post-7523354
That single one asset got taken down, publisher is still active:
https://assetstore.unity.com/publishers/46243
Well, “active”, didn’t even bother to remove that taken down asset from their publisher website.
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Not sure what the deal is, but Then don’t buy from Unity… You have been given options… You can use them, or just bitch about it…
if the rest of us can do this, so can everyone else…you have options, don’t buy from the asset store is one option.
2nd option I mention a hundred times, is to hire a lawyer and a professional artist/designer who knows better on what is legit to put in a game that you are selling… if you aren’t selling anything, you have NOTHING to worry about, regardless.
option three learn to make your own art.
if art looks questionable, don’t buy it… You can share with your friends, and point that out, but you also need to becareful there that you know what your talking about. regarding such art.
You aren’t going to make Unity do anything, as you can see, no matter how much people complain, they have laws to follow as well, and there legal team i’m sure handles them…it don’t matter if you or I like it…
Lastly I reported that one, did you? the ripped art to the Author I even got you the link to do so.
if so, did they contact you ?? at the end of the day its up to the company and author once you report it. if nothing is done, then A: ITS NOT there art. B, that person may have rights to make that art. ( this happens alot) Three, they just don’t care…
If you cover all your basis, then you are good to go as I mention this many times… by now I would of thought you guys would of contacted a lawyer to make a contract for you and hired an artist, to go over anything you may be selling game wise, project wise.
https://assetstore.unity.com/publishers/46243 what is wrong with this asset? I have not looked into it.
edit: The car one your talking about that was ripped. Ya, no idea why that publisher is still there, he should be gone and banned. I agree.
This is not illegal this one, you reported by license… That DOES not matter…regarding cars, which is why it is not taken down and shouldn’t be… I live and worked with the car industry my entire life, and third generation person in my family to, I live in the big three state as well, I know how this works as does lawyers, contractors and Unity knows better. They can’t take a car down for “LOOKING” like one made by a company. if it was named Ford Mustang , yes the name would need to be removed… I said this a hundred times and said also to reach out to those companies licensing department and your contract lawyers, they will give you the same information regarding this. This is allowed.
The ripping stuff, I agree though with you 100%, that publisher should of been gone a long time ago… Unity ethics are in question there… at best.
if you have found that car below to be ripped, then I would agree it should be taken down but for the other reason you stated, about license, because it looks like something is not a valid reason…Sorry but it don’t work that way. and believe me…
to be clear even though you and I rarely agree on many things, I agree with what your trying to do, with the ripping stuff here, and I think your doing a good thing to point out, the ripped art . I can’t stand cheaters in games, I can’t stand thieves either in game development or in general. So I support you 100% but, I don’t support things that are not illegal. or non ripped art for "looking like something… .
I don’t buy art, and to be honest, no idea who would buy the art you guys are talking about, who ever unwrapped the models, is horrible… an auto unwrapper can do a better job… and the textures are total trash… Just terrible… ( I’m talking about the cars that where ripped.) and still on the store…
I would stand clear of the publisher, due to his bad behavior, and he should be called out for doing what he did…You don’t use someone elses art and sell it as your own… But who ever made it, its terrible…
https://assetstore.unity.com/publishers/46243
This one you where referring to as license, its not. No car is, unless the name is used… names can’t be used.
How ever I have seen some on the store, that are using company and model names, that is NOT legal at all … So those should be removed. Unless that person has rights, they may have the rights. Unity would need to find out, or you can contact them to find out.
Also I do understand that you want Unity to do something, and honestly they should for the ripped art, they need to take down bad publishers, that are known to do this. They also should refund people who bought from them as well… This should be automatic. as its fraud .
So Unity needs to fix this issue, so I support something being done about ripped art… to protect people for sure, even though I don’t buy art, it needs to be done to protect people who may not know what to look for. and just in general to protect the customer… I get what your trying to do. I have from day 1, but alot of stuff gets lost when you guys talk about different issues…
This is regarding license and since you commented about it in your post.
https://www.fordbrandlicensing.com/Apply
This is related to Ford, in general but alot of them are like this. I applied years ago and had to renew per my own license. but this is related to logo’s names etc… Other stuff does not matter…
if you are unsure about this, as you guys mention in other posts about licensing saying wrong information to others, then contact these companies others do and I have for years… I worked with Ford, GM, Mopar for decades as a mechanic and a artist. Something we had to use for certain work as well in the car industry as well… So I mention my experience so others who may want to know what to do, in order to follow the proper process, and understand that it does exist, I seen some of your comments, you make it like its impossible… Its not…fairly easy to do now a days, in the old days, it was tougher.
Ok, enough with walls of text and arguing. No one here is a lawyer, and copyright and trademark are civil issues (at least in the US), meaning that there is only precedent and then rulings, not hard rules, and certainly not “personal experience” that judicates.
Again, I do feel there is some value in identifying potentially problematic assets and sharing and reporting them. The goal here is to help out other developers, not play lawyer. So no more arguing opinions on development or other random stuff, or folks will get thread bans. Last warning.
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No I think you might as well lock it, because once more, we are trying to discuss a very important issue, where Unity has completely dropped the ball and offers 0 protection and when users take it upon themselves to flag some assets as potentially iffy (for lack of better word) in some form of the community trying to protect itself from the copyright hellhole that is the asset store, instead we keep getting the threads derailed by
weird semi coherent walls
Of…text.
With Oddly spaced paragraphs and capitalisation, that completely derail any sense of purpose.
And also Asset Store publishers threatening users.
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I wonder for comparison if UE marketplace has some measures in place to protect customers from stolen art sold on marketplace. I think I recall similar thread and complaints there. Perhaps its a common practice to not protect customers? (as much as I dont agree with it ).
The Unreal terms are just as bad, I guess it’s a bit less of a problem there because of the lesser popularity.
Other stores offer indemnification (where if for some reason you lose money as a result of one of their assets, they cover that cost, up to a point), like pond5 (for music and audio) and turbosquid (for 3d models), they offer a little bit by default, and you can also pay extra for more coverage. (see here for example: https://www.turbosquid.com/turbosquid-license-tiers ). This is standard practice and not some new territory that requires out of the box thinking or something.
Unity’s (and Unreal’s) store terms instead say we the users ought to Indemnify them… Which, uhhh… okay.
But I guess it doesn’t matter much when your primary audience are kids that will never actually release a game, so why not let them play with Scar or a branded car, or animations from Tony Hawk.
The thing is, it’s troublesome to set up B2B-style requirements in a shop where a majority of sellers do that as a side job or as a hobby.
It would deter honest sellers too (because nowadays there’s always the risk to be sued somehow as soon as you give ANY form of guarantee) and those are in a way customers to the shop owners like Unity too.
Quite a negative way to put it, lol, but exactly!
Would kinda be surprised if a studio that can hire a senior artist, like Recon03 suggested, really buy the 20-50$ assets from the store. In my opinion it is hard to create a consistent atmosphere with them. Hence why you hire an artist in the first place: To make all components in the same style.
Similar with music, though at least there are a some consistent packs\albums that suffice for a whole indie game.
What the store excels for serious studios too instead, are tools and coded features (as long as they are well encapsulated and documented).
Interesting approach. That sounds a bit like an insurance system. A part of the money from all sells is added to a pot for the cases where they have to pay to customers.
Smart idea, but since selling assets is not Unity’s main business, I guess they don’t see much reason in such a thing that would also bear an additional business risk for themselves and increase selling prices.