It's unlikely that anybody truly sad would have read Sony's updated User Agreement for the PlayStation network that was piped down the wires yesterday. We did. There has been some re-jigging down to the previous agreement, the most interesting of which applies to 'User Materials' - e.g. user created content.
Whereas the previous version of the agreement contained mentions of User Material in its Section 10 on 'Public Information', the newer versions Section 10 is clearly entitled "10. User Material". There are differences between those two sections, in precis (you can see both agreements in full using the links at the bottom of this story) here they are:
Old Version:
Title = "10. PUBLIC INFORMATION"
New Version:
Title = "10. USER MATERIAL"
Old Version = "You may have the opportunity to post, stream or transmit pictures, photographs, game-related materials, music, home video content or other information through PSN to share with the PSN community (“User Material”)."
New Version = the same text with the addition of: "We may provide you with content to use in the creation of User Material."
Old Version = "User Material will belong to you, but you authorise us, our affiliated companies and other PSN users, to use, distribute, copy, modify, display, and publish your User Material throughout PSN and other associated services, and in the promotion of such services, without payment to you, and you waive any moral rights you may have in your User Material."
So, the old version contained one succinct little paragraph. The new version extends and expands on this (we have bolded a particularly interesting slice).
New Version = "User Material created by you will belong to you, although any content provided by us will still belong to us and/or our licensors as explained in Section 7 above..."
Plus, "You authorise us, our affiliated companies and other PSN users, to use, distribute, copy, modify, display, and publish your User Material throughout PSN and other associated services."
Plus, "You also authorise us and our affiliated companies, without payment to you, to license, sell and otherwise commercially exploit your User Material (for example, selling subscriptions to access User Material and/or receiving advertising revenue related to User Material), and to use your User Material in the promotion of PlayStation products and services."
The section that was previously that single Old Version paragraph also, in the new version contains, "You must not commercially exploit User Material without our consent.
"You waive any moral rights you may have in your User Material."
So, the biggest change - one that is more than re-wording - lies in the bolded section above. With the release of LittleBigPlanet imminent. The game's ability to enable users to create levels that could become commercially compelling and the reworded user agreement do not look coincidental.
This finally puts paid to rumours that users will receive payments for levels they created. This could, of course, result in howls of "treachery!!". On the other hand, it could also result in all user created levels being free to all users - and not just 'at launch' as Sony and Media Molecule announced in July this year.
[b]New Version
Cached Verson[/b]
Whereas the previous version of the agreement contained mentions of User Material in its Section 10 on 'Public Information', the newer versions Section 10 is clearly entitled "10. User Material". There are differences between those two sections, in precis (you can see both agreements in full using the links at the bottom of this story) here they are:
Old Version:
Title = "10. PUBLIC INFORMATION"
New Version:
Title = "10. USER MATERIAL"
Old Version = "You may have the opportunity to post, stream or transmit pictures, photographs, game-related materials, music, home video content or other information through PSN to share with the PSN community (“User Material”)."
New Version = the same text with the addition of: "We may provide you with content to use in the creation of User Material."
Old Version = "User Material will belong to you, but you authorise us, our affiliated companies and other PSN users, to use, distribute, copy, modify, display, and publish your User Material throughout PSN and other associated services, and in the promotion of such services, without payment to you, and you waive any moral rights you may have in your User Material."
So, the old version contained one succinct little paragraph. The new version extends and expands on this (we have bolded a particularly interesting slice).
New Version = "User Material created by you will belong to you, although any content provided by us will still belong to us and/or our licensors as explained in Section 7 above..."
Plus, "You authorise us, our affiliated companies and other PSN users, to use, distribute, copy, modify, display, and publish your User Material throughout PSN and other associated services."
Plus, "You also authorise us and our affiliated companies, without payment to you, to license, sell and otherwise commercially exploit your User Material (for example, selling subscriptions to access User Material and/or receiving advertising revenue related to User Material), and to use your User Material in the promotion of PlayStation products and services."
The section that was previously that single Old Version paragraph also, in the new version contains, "You must not commercially exploit User Material without our consent.
"You waive any moral rights you may have in your User Material."
So, the biggest change - one that is more than re-wording - lies in the bolded section above. With the release of LittleBigPlanet imminent. The game's ability to enable users to create levels that could become commercially compelling and the reworded user agreement do not look coincidental.
This finally puts paid to rumours that users will receive payments for levels they created. This could, of course, result in howls of "treachery!!". On the other hand, it could also result in all user created levels being free to all users - and not just 'at launch' as Sony and Media Molecule announced in July this year.
[b]New Version
Cached Verson[/b]
Companies:
Sony
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