License questions

[reece146]

So, I stumbled across this page of 3DS models... Which blender is able to import with no/little issues.

http://www.planit3d.com/source/meshes_fi...cles01.htm

Each download has a license statement similar to this:

Code:

Licence Agreement
You may make unlimited use of this model, but only in the form of images.
Under no circumstance may you market or redistribute this model in a way that allows it to be marketed by a third party or distributed.
You may not post this model on any web site or other media without permission from the creator.
Any questions about this model please contact the creator and not PlanIT 3D

Would creating a stripped down vdrift specific model using this as a starting point and distributing with vdrift effectively violate this license? I'm assuming so but...

How many data transformations does an object data set have to go through before it is considered "unique"?

Sorry for being such a "question boy" lately. Just really jazzed about vdrift and want to get some new cars/tracks into the mix. Have a couple of customized cars done already, now need to get model specific object models on them.

[thelusiv]

Don't worry about all the questions, when I got involved in the project I was all questions too...Just ask Joe...

It looks to me like the site is just looking out for the rights of the authors of the models that contributed to their site. They don't want people coming there, downloading the models, and then selling them without permission, or something like that.

However it looks like if you contact the author, and get their permission, then it's fine to use their models. You just have to ask first. This is what kcid did a lot in the past when he found models made by Racer community members, or others - just ask them. There were times when he couldn't get ahold of them, but they put the source for their models on racer-xtreme.com, and there was no license agreement, so we assume they're fair game...of course if any of those original authors object to our use we would remove it from the game immediately.