Questions about how to legally make reskins.

[Gameoholic1994]

I just have one question about the whole reskinning thing, because I'm still learning. In the asset's config, it says not to reskin or modify the asset "without prior consult" to the asset's original owner. But how does it work to legally reskin without worries? Do you just clone the asset and do whatever you want with the clone? And by modify, I mean change certain dependencies by changing the kuid number for each chosen dependencies in the main asset's config text? Or do you still have to contact the original owner through the contact info (if they provide one)? But I also apologize if this is stuff that I should've already learned by myself long ago.

And those questions about reskinning also apply to Railworks (a.k.a. Train Simulator 2017), if anybody plays that, too.

 

[SailorDan]

You can reskin for your own private use without obtaining permission.

To reskin for any sort of publishing then either you must have permission or you must create the asset from your own original work. However, you can incorporate the mesh from existing assets without copying by using an alias. See here for the technique:
http://online.ts2009.com/mediaWiki/index.php/HowTo/Reskin_an_Asset_using_an_alias

 

[PerRock]

You can reskin for your own private use without obtaining permission.

Not entirely true, always read the license included in the asset. There are a few creators out there who even ban personal reskins.

And if the asset doesn't have a license written into it, you still have to contact the original creator. The "license" section is for creators to add onto or exclude parts of the standard copywright laws.

The ONLY time you do not have to contact the original creator is when the license specifically says that you do not need to.

peter

 

[SailorDan]

Not entirely true, always read the license included in the asset. There are a few creators out there who even ban personal reskins.

No-one can stop you from modifying assets for your own use. It doesn't matter what they might try to do with threatening messages in the config, they cannot control what people do for their own private purposes. Once they publish something the only rights they have over it are the rights conferred by Copyright, and that only applies to publishing. If you don't publish it, you can do what you like with it.

 

[PerRock]

No-one can stop you from modifying assets for your own use. It doesn't matter what they might try to do with threatening messages in the config, they cannot control what people do for their own private purposes. Once they publish something the only rights they have over it are the rights conferred by Copyright, and that only applies to publishing. If you don't publish it, you can do what you like with it.

Yes and no, it depends on the creator's country's copyright laws. I don't know of any country that would allow a suit over what you did on your personal computer. Where you can get into trouble is with screenshots; some countries consider them a form a re-distribution.

peter

 

[H222]

There are a few creators out there who even ban personal reskins.

That doesn't mean jack about reskins. Just means they can't show screenshots of it.

 

[SailorDan]

Where you can get into trouble is with screenshots; some countries consider them a form a re-distribution.

No. It has been upheld many times over in many different jurisdictions that an image of a copyrightable item that is not itself an image will not generally infringe copyright. The exceptions are where both the original and the copy exist in the same 'artistic space'. If you have information about a jurisdiction where this is not the case then you need to identify it.

If what you are suggesting were correct then the original creator of the mesh would be infringing on the copyright of the original design drawings created by the manufacturer of the traincar, and that simply isn't so. See Section 51 of the CDPA.

 

[charlie3577]

I have a question. I once reskined a locomotive I downloaded from the DLS back in Trainz 2012, but there was no licence (or didn't say basically anything). I couldn't contact the creator because I was not active on trainz online, and now I don't even remember the original one. Could now share that repaint?

 

[SailorDan]

I have a question. I once reskined a locomotive I downloaded from the DLS back in Trainz 2012, but there was no licence (or didn't say basically anything). I couldn't contact the creator because I was not active on trainz online, and now I don't even remember the original one. Could now share that repaint?

A published artistic work (such as a Trainz model) is automatically covered by Copyright, whether or not that is mentioned in the work. Unless you have an indication that these Copyright rights have been renounced (in whole or in part) either included as a comment within the item or as other advice from the copyright owner, then those rules apply.

Obviously there are cases where any reasonable assessment would be that the original creator was no longer concerned with protecting their copyright. But unfortunately, without a clear statement that that is the case, you have to assume that the item is still protected.

 

[Christopher824]

I just have one question about the whole reskinning thing, because I'm still learning. In the asset's config, it says not to reskin or modify the asset "without prior consult" to the asset's original owner. But how does it work to legally reskin without worries? Do you just clone the asset and do whatever you want with the clone? And by modify, I mean change certain dependencies by changing the kuid number for each chosen dependencies in the main asset's config text? Or do you still have to contact the original owner through the contact info (if they provide one)? But I also apologize if this is stuff that I should've already learned by myself long ago.

And those questions about reskinning also apply to Railworks (a.k.a. Train Simulator 2017), if anybody plays that, too.

Here is a more definitive answer to your questions. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright

 

[PerRock]

I have a question. I once reskined a locomotive I downloaded from the DLS back in Trainz 2012, but there was no licence (or didn't say basically anything). I couldn't contact the creator because I was not active on trainz online, and now I don't even remember the original one. Could now share that repaint?

Essentially, no.

Truthfully, well it depends. A few creators who have left the community, have given blanket permissions for reskins. You would have to do some research to find out if that creator was one of the few.

peter

 

[BuilderBob]

... and now I don't even remember the original one.

You will often get a good indication of the original creator, or at least the asset that the mesh came from, by viewing the mesh in AssetX or Trainz Mesh Viewer. The texture names retain the full path to the original image files on the original creator's computer, and that provides the detail you need to identify it.