Reference of a character used in further art commissions

[Miru123]

Hello,

So I bought a character from an artist, an adoptable, which is part of what they call their ''closed species''. When I bought it I had to agree to their TOS, which states ,for cases in which I change the design or use the character in a way that does not match his closed species lore, the following, for cases in which I change the design or use the character in a way that does not match his closed species lore:

''Failure to do any of these rules, or violate any of them, results FIRST in a friendly contact, notifying you of the rule violation, and if the situation isn't rectified through that then it results in a permanent block/blacklist for my art, as well as having FA administration being contacted for mis posted Art. If continuation of violation of Ki'an species copyrighted content persists, legal action will be taken. In addition, you will forfeit your ownership of your character, and they will be rehomed and resold, as per result of you breaking the TOS. You agree to the above TOS with receiving your Ki'an exclusive character, and acknowledge you willfully forfeit any claim to said character if you break any of the TOS rules. By buying a Ki'an closed species, you are agreeing and understand the above rules fully. ''

-Can he actually reclaim the character I bought?
-Do I have to respect the Lore in order to not lose my character?
-Can I change the design?

Long post sorry

 

[Taxing Matters]

Hello,

So I bought a character from an artist, an adoptable, which is part of what they call their ''closed species''. When I bought it I had to agree to their TOS, which states ,for cases in which I change the design or use the character in a way that does not match his closed species lore, the following, for cases in which I change the design or use the character in a way that does not match his closed species lore:

''Failure to do any of these rules, or violate any of them, results FIRST in a friendly contact, notifying you of the rule violation, and if the situation isn't rectified through that then it results in a permanent block/blacklist for my art, as well as having FA administration being contacted for mis posted Art. If continuation of violation of Ki'an species copyrighted content persists, legal action will be taken. In addition, you will forfeit your ownership of your character, and they will be rehomed and resold, as per result of you breaking the TOS. You agree to the above TOS with receiving your Ki'an exclusive character, and acknowledge you willfully forfeit any claim to said character if you break any of the TOS rules. By buying a Ki'an closed species, you are agreeing and understand the above rules fully. ''

-Can he actually reclaim the character I bought?
-Do I have to respect the Lore in order to not lose my character?
-Can I change the design?

Long post sorry

I assume that this all taking place in the US. If you are in some other country it may be different. You licensed the character and entered into a contract regarding its use. If you breach the contract by using the character in a way not permitted by the agreement then the agreement says that among other things you may lose your right to the character. I see nothing in the part of the agreement you posted that would make it unenforceable but then I've not read the entire agreement either. Bottom line is that you take a risk here that you could lose the character if you decide to go outside the bounds that are set for the use of that character. If you want to know if you might have any legal recourse for that you ought to consult a lawyer. Be aware that such fights can get expensive even if you might have a shot to win it.

 

[quincy]

Hello,

So I bought a character from an artist, an adoptable, which is part of what they call their ''closed species''. When I bought it I had to agree to their TOS, which states ,for cases in which I change the design or use the character in a way that does not match his closed species lore, the following, for cases in which I change the design or use the character in a way that does not match his closed species lore:

''Failure to do any of these rules, or violate any of them, results FIRST in a friendly contact, notifying you of the rule violation, and if the situation isn't rectified through that then it results in a permanent block/blacklist for my art, as well as having FA administration being contacted for mis posted Art. If continuation of violation of Ki'an species copyrighted content persists, legal action will be taken. In addition, you will forfeit your ownership of your character, and they will be rehomed and resold, as per result of you breaking the TOS. You agree to the above TOS with receiving your Ki'an exclusive character, and acknowledge you willfully forfeit any claim to said character if you break any of the TOS rules. By buying a Ki'an closed species, you are agreeing and understand the above rules fully. ''

-Can he actually reclaim the character I bought?
-Do I have to respect the Lore in order to not lose my character?
-Can I change the design?

Long post sorry

If the terms of the license include what you have outlined above, the answers to your questions are: Yes, the creator of the character can reclaim the character and Yes, you must respect the Lore in order to not lose the character and No, you cannot change the design if to change the design violates the terms of the license.

The creator of the character has not transferred any “exclusive copyrights” to the character with the license that has been granted. The character-creator has retained all exclusive rights and has offered to you (for a price) a non-exclusive limited license. If you violate the terms of the license, you potentially can be sued for copyright infringement.

In other words, copyright ownership has not changed. You have only been granted limited rights to use the character.

This is assuming you and the character-creator both are located in the U.S. and that the license when read in its entirety does not significantly change the terms as you have touched on briefly here.

If the copyright holder decides to take legal action against you, you should consult with an IP attorney in your area.

 

[Miru123]

If the terms of the license include what you have outlined above, the answers to your questions are: Yes, the creator of the character can reclaim the character and Yes, you must respect the Lore in order to not lose the character and No, you cannot change the design if to change the design violates the terms of the license.

The creator of the character has not transferred any “exclusive copyrights” to the character with the license that has been granted. The character-creator has retained all exclusive rights and has offered to you (for a price) a non-exclusive limited license. If you violate the terms of the license, you potentially can be sued for copyright infringement.

In other words, copyright ownership has not changed. You have only been granted limited rights to use the character.

This is assuming you and the character-creator both are located in the U.S. and that the license when read in its entirety does not significantly change the terms as you have touched on briefly here.

If the copyright holder decides to take legal action against you, you should consult with an IP attorney in your area.

So could I buy the copyrights off him?

 

[quincy]

So could I buy the copyrights off him?

Where are you located? Are you in the U.S?

A copyright holder can transfer to someone ALL exclusive rights to their copyright in a written and signed transfer agreement. This would change the copyright ownership. They can transfer rights with or without an exchange of money. It is up to the copyright holder.

 

[Miru123]

Where are you located? Are you in the U.S?

A copyright holder can transfer to someone ALL exclusive rights to their copyright in a written and signed transfer agreement. This would change the copyright ownership. They can transfer rights with or without an exchange of money. It is up to the copyright holder.

I live in Luxemburg, Europe. Nothing happened yet, I wanted to know first where I stand.

 

[quincy]

I live in Luxemburg, Europe. Nothing happened yet, I wanted to know first where I stand.

First, FreeAdvice handles U.S. law questions only.

Although copyright laws in the U.S. and France have some similarities, the laws are not the same. You will want to seek assistance from an IP attorney in your area.

Where you stand in regard to copyrights in the character will depend on the licensing rights granted to you by the copyright holder. Nothing you have said in your posts, however, indicate that copyright ownership has changed hands from the character-creator to you.

Good luck.

 

[Taxing Matters]

First, FreeAdvice handles U.S. law questions only.

Although copyright laws in the U.S. and France have some similarities...

Luxemburg (or alternatively Luxembourg) is a country in Europe, not a city in France.

 

[quincy]

Here is a link to France’s “Intellectual Property Code,” published by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO):

https://www.wipo.int/edocs/lexdocs/laws/en/fr/fr467en.pdf

 

[quincy]

Luxemburg (or alternatively Luxembourg) is a country in Europe, not a city in France.

Oops. Haha. More coffee is needed. I could swear he wrote “France.”

Here is a link to WIPO and information on IP laws in Luxembourg:
https://www.wipo.int/members/en/details.jsp?country_id=106

The copyright laws in Luxembourg have significant differences from the copyright laws in the U.S., so an IP attorney in Luxembourg should be consulted.

 

[Miru123]

Oops. Haha. More coffee is needed. I could swear he wrote “France.”

Here is a link to WIPO and information on IP laws in Luxembourg:
https://www.wipo.int/members/en/details.jsp?country_id=106

The copyright laws in Luxembourg have significant differences from the copyright laws in the U.S., so an IP attorney in Luxembourg should be consulted.

The artist is from the USA. I will try to see if I can come to an agreement with him about the copyrights. Tyvm for your advice

 

[quincy]

The artist is from the USA. I will try to see if I can come to an agreement with him about the copyrights. Tyvm for your advice

It is certainly best if you can come to an amicable agreement with the copyright-holder. Make sure any agreement you reach is written and signed and dated by both of you.

As a note: If the copyright holder were to sue, he likely would file suit against you in Luxembourg, in your country’s courts under your country’s laws, unless the license states the governing law and jurisdiction.