I love this month loading screen BUT…

Dumal2015

Isn’t copyright infringement to use Nasa’s official images for commercial purpose?

That’s Pluto btw

Comments

Imagine they sue Kabam and the game closes down. All thanks to you.
Jokes aside, this is what NASA says:

- If the NASA material is to be used for commercial purposes, including advertisements, it must not explicitly or implicitly convey NASA's endorsement of commercial goods or services.

- NASA should be acknowledged as the source of the material.

Kibble001

I’m sure NASA deeply cares about this. As do we all.

Real_Madrid_76_2

i see jupiter size equivalent to pluto

Dumal2015

Lol, I doubt the game would be taken down but they could sure receive a take down notice n have to replace the loading screen
I remember when OG Miles n Luke Cage had animations copied from characters from other game. Kabam acknowledged the fact n took action.

SummonerNR

If it was a private company (or person) taking a photo, they would have rights to it.

But I would think since NASA is taxpayer funded as part of the government that serves the people, and it is not custom created content like their actual Logos would be, that they probably consider images taken as being public domain.

Now maybe if such an image were the principal focus of the content, that might warrant a mention of the source.

Panchulon21

The forums are funny.

SpideyFunko

Imagine they sue Kabam and the game closes down. All thanks to you.
Jokes aside, this is what NASA says:

- If the NASA material is to be used for commercial purposes, including advertisements, it must not explicitly or implicitly convey NASA's endorsement of commercial goods or services.

- NASA should be acknowledged as the source of the material.

it’s a planet (sorry, “dwarf” planet) in outer space

it ain’t nasa’s

Squirrelguy

Wait, can we just take a second and acknowledge the fact: Did you just happen to notice that several of the random planets were in fact real? Like just casually? How often do you look at Pluto to be able to recognize that?

Also, love NASA being brought up. It should happen more.

GroundedWisdom

NASA is an agency of the government. They're public domain.

Wicket329

If it was a private company (or person) taking a photo, they would have rights to it.

But I would think since NASA is taxpayer funded as part of the government that serves the people, and it is not custom created content like their actual Logos would be, that they probably consider images taken as being public domain.

Now maybe if such an image were the principal focus of the content, that might warrant a mention of the source.

NASA is an agency of the government. They're public domain.

Aw man, we’d gone so long without legal speculation on the forums.

Nothing about this is improper, and it has nothing to do with the source. This would be an example of what’s called Fair Use. It takes the original image or work and is sufficiently transformative of it to create a new work in the eyes of the law. This assumes that these particular images are subject to any kind of trademark to begin with, which they may not be. But that has nothing to do with the source being a governmental entity, it would be because NASA chose not to implement such measures.

NASA, regardless of being an agency of the American government, can retain intellectual property (IP) rights and patents. As can all agencies.

IP is an incredibly dense and complex body of law, and not one I specialize in. Take my analysis with a grain of salt, but I believe that I’m correct on this.

Karatemike415

How did you possibly even notice this

Ceder

NASA don't own the planets

Kibble001

NASA don't own the planets

Or….do they….

TheAngryOne

Better call Saul

AverageDesi

NASA is an agency of the government. They're public domain.

But nasa is of USA's and not Canada's though?

Buttehrs

Of all the things to complain about in game like still busted inputs, you worry about a picture of a couple planets. Lots of things to worry about in game but this ain't one of them.

SirGamesBond

Of all the things to complain about in game like still busted inputs, you worry about a picture of a couple planets. Lots of things to worry about in game but this ain't one of them.

Chillll dawg...This is a light hearted post.

And top notch observation, finding Pluto.
I also know the heart shaped Pluto terrain, but I wasn't expecting it on a game wallpaper.
Good stuff.

Shiroihara

Of all the things to complain about in game like still busted inputs, you worry about a picture of a couple planets. Lots of things to worry about in game but this ain't one of them.
Chillll dawg...This is a light hearted post.

And top notch observation, finding Pluto.
I also know the heart shaped Pluto terrain, but I wasn't expecting it on a game wallpaper.
Good stuff.

It was actually refreshing among all the:
- Look at my roster
- What do I do now
- Explain the game
- Pointless poll #x

Total_Domin01

Of all the things to complain about in game like still busted inputs, you worry about a picture of a couple planets. Lots of things to worry about in game but this ain't one of them.
Chillll dawg...This is a light hearted post.

And top notch observation, finding Pluto.
I also know the heart shaped Pluto terrain, but I wasn't expecting it on a game wallpaper.
Good stuff.
It was actually refreshing among all the:
- Look at my roster
- What do I do now
- Explain the game
- Pointless poll #x

You forgot general complaining

VegetaNoOuji

I too enjoy this month's loading screen, spend loads of time looking at it but it's always accompanied by a connection error sign after every other fight.

Bugmat78

NASA don't own the planets

They own the photo of the planets - which is what is being discussed.

NASA typically allows images it shares publicly to be used commercially under certain guidelines including not having any identifiable logos or persons in them:

https://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/guidelines/index.html

Some copyright licencing info for those interested:

https://simmons.libguides.com/c.php?g=372344&p=2513461#:~:text=What is Fair Use?,from the copyright holder first.

Warlockjr

Imagine they sue Kabam and the game closes down. All thanks to you.
Jokes aside, this is what NASA says:

- If the NASA material is to be used for commercial purposes, including advertisements, it must not explicitly or implicitly convey NASA's endorsement of commercial goods or services.

- NASA should be acknowledged as the source of the material.
it’s a planet (sorry, “dwarf” planet) in outer space

it ain’t nasa’s

nasa found it tho i think i do not really pay attention to that

Sundance_2099

Pluto was discovered by Clyde Tombaugh in 1930. NASA didn't exist until the 1950s.

Also: *%$£ THE IAU, PLUTO IS A PLANET!

Ultimatheory

How did you possibly even notice this

I always recognize Pluto solely because of this gif now.

I still wouldn’t have made a forum post to complain about it though.

GroundedWisdom

NASA don't own the planets
They own the photo of the planets - which is what is being discussed.

NASA typically allows images it shares publicly to be used commercially under certain guidelines including not having any identifiable logos or persons in them:

https://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/guidelines/index.html

Some copyright licencing info for those interested:

https://simmons.libguides.com/c.php?g=372344&p=2513461#:~:text=What is Fair Use?,from the copyright holder first.

We're talking about the photos of planets. They're not copyright. They're public domain. I never referenced the logo.

Wicket329

NASA don't own the planets
They own the photo of the planets - which is what is being discussed.

NASA typically allows images it shares publicly to be used commercially under certain guidelines including not having any identifiable logos or persons in them:

https://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/guidelines/index.html

Some copyright licencing info for those interested:

https://simmons.libguides.com/c.php?g=372344&p=2513461#:~:text=What is Fair Use?,from the copyright holder first.

I am begging people not to rely on google for this. That article is woefully insufficient to get a grasp on fair use and copyright issues. It’s so much deeper than a 1-2 page article can cover.

NASA don't own the planets
They own the photo of the planets - which is what is being discussed.

NASA typically allows images it shares publicly to be used commercially under certain guidelines including not having any identifiable logos or persons in them:

https://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/guidelines/index.html

Some copyright licencing info for those interested:

https://simmons.libguides.com/c.php?g=372344&p=2513461#:~:text=What is Fair Use?,from the copyright holder first.
We're talking about the photos of planets. They're not copyright. They're public domain. I never referenced the logo.

Just because something is not explicitly copyrighted does not make it public domain. There are other IP protections that may be in place. Per their policies, NASA does not typically copyright their images. But that does not mean they are public domain. There are still some restrictions on use, which is not the case for public domain property.

GroundedWisdom

Wicket329

This is where the legal definitions and the common definitions start to split in a very pedantic way. The quote in your screenshot comes from Wikipedia, which is helpful for understanding general ideas. Here is the legal definition from Cornell Law School (sloppy highlighting is mine):

NASA images are *functionally* in the public domain. There is basically no situation in which you’ll find yourself that runs afoul of NASA’s policies on this because they want these images to be used far and wide. However, they do clearly retain the ability to place restrictions on how the images are used (as evidenced by their media guidelines page dictating rules for certain, very specific situations and requiring credit to be given). This implies a degree of ownership, and legally speaking that is contradictory to a work being in the public domain. So despite having almost all of the trappings and consequences of public domain, it isn’t quite there.

tl;dr:

NASA images can be used for basically anything because NASA says they’re cool with it.

GroundedWisdom

This is where the legal definitions and the common definitions start to split in a very pedantic way. The quote in your screenshot comes from Wikipedia, which is helpful for understanding general ideas. Here is the legal definition from Cornell Law School (sloppy highlighting is mine):

NASA images are *functionally* in the public domain. There is basically no situation in which you’ll find yourself that runs afoul of NASA’s policies on this because they want these images to be used far and wide. However, they do clearly retain the ability to place restrictions on how the images are used (as evidenced by their media guidelines page dictating rules for certain, very specific situations and requiring credit to be given). This implies a degree of ownership, and legally speaking that is contradictory to a work being in the public domain. So despite having almost all of the trappings and consequences of public domain, it isn’t quite there.

tl;dr:

NASA images can be used for basically anything because NASA says they’re cool with it.

Thank you for the clarification.

SummonerNR

As a follow up, using the upcoming Artemis I mission as an example, below is Artemis I’s trajectory (in stages, and duration) that NASA has put out. Tentative launch Monday Aug 29th between 8:30 and 10:30 am.

And below that is the Public Domain and Licensing info for the image, as specified with it's link from Wikipedia.

So while this one would not have been able to be used within the game itself because it contains the NASA Logo (although it is available for non-commercial use), the one of Pluto would not have that restriction. FYI, Pluto photo used was generated from NASA's New Horizons Spacecraft (2015).