Cyan's legal guidlines posted on their website, include the usage of their property for non-commercial use, as well as for Third Party Work/Fan Art.
Here's where it gets confusing.
Non-Commercial Use
At Cyan's sole discretion, we allow usage of the Assets for personal, home and school (non-commercial, non-revenue producing). Completion of an Asset Request Form and subsequent approval is required and use of approved assets are limited to the requestor. Further distribution by requestor, whether through direct distribution or via the ability of a third party to "copy and paste" the Assets are prohibited without the third party completing an Asset Request Form.
General guidelines for Non-Commercial Use are as follows:
Maximum asset usage per domain for Ages less than 1 year from release
* 3 full size images from each age (larger than a thumbnail)
* 10 thumbnail images from each age (typically 100 x 100 pixels)
* 10 seconds of sound from each age
* 50 words of journal text from each age
Maximum asset usage per domain for Ages more than 1 year from release
* 15 full size images from each age (larger than a thumbnail)
* 25 thumbnail images from each age (typically 100 x 100 pixels)
* 30 seconds of sound from each age
* 200 words of journal text from each age
Pretty straight forward. According to their website "Below, you will find guidelines for using Cyan's assets, which include, but are not limited to, images, text, story, audio, and music ("Assets") as they relate to our products."
So basically you send in a request form to use their assets, and must stay to the guidelines set forth if approved. Here's where it gets tricky. That is for non-commercial use. Now they also have set up this:
Third Party Work and Fan Art
At Cyan's sole discretion, we allow usage of the Assets for fan created content (Third Party Work/TPW) which will be shared with other fans at no cost. Please review TPW criteria prior to submitting an Asset Request Form for use of assets. As a warning, we do not guarantee a specific amount of time in which we will get back to you. That said we usually look over all third party requests with a legal committee once a quarter. Written permission is required.
General guidelines for TPW asset use:
1. Your work (Third Party Work/TPW) will not be sanctioned by Cyan.
2. Cyan will not assist in the creation of your TPW. You are responsible for researching all public information created by Cyan on Cyan's products to ensure that your TPW conforms with and does not conflict with our works.
3. Your TPW shall not sully, soil, deface, or otherwise discredit Cyan's current story lines, events, characters, or places. You may create your own events, characters, etc., however these new additions must not alter or conflict with works Cyan has already made public. Additionally, Cyan may, from time to time make public, new story lines, characters, etc., which at the time of their release by Cyan shall be considered "fact." And should your TPW contradict or conflict with Cyan's work, you are responsible and required to modify your TPW to resolve the conflict.
4. Given the potential magnitude of TPWs related to Cyan's properties, Cyan is unable to advise you and is under no obligation to advise you regarding compliance of your TPWs to Cyan's story lines, etc.
5. Your TPW shall not be for profit, barter, trade or any other form of commerce, whether directly or indirectly by you or another party from which you or other parties benefit in any form.
6. The grant of license may be revoked at any time.
7. If you do not agree with each of these terms and conditions, do not create your TPW based on Cyan's products.
This is where I'm confused. Does this mean that we must follow the guidelines set forth in both (meaning we can only use 30 seconds of audio from say Dereno) or, does it mean that if we submit a form for the Third Party Work, for a fan age, then we have unlimited access to the cyan's "assets" as long as we follow the guidelines set forth in the Third Party Work section?
