inquiry about EA service agreement

[EA_Mai · Accepted solution]

Hi @Reitanna,

Let me try to answer then

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@Reitanna wrote:

when you say creators cannot accept payment unless it is also available for free, does this include patreon exclusive content?

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I'll quote SimGuruDrake's post on this one:

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@SimGuruDrake wrote:

As long as the content is still made available FOR FREE we do not mind these types of pages. Folks who have a Patreon page are welcome to provide folks with "early access" incentives for their content but it should be made available to the general public within 2-3 weeks of it being given to folks early.

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Every content released early exclusively for patrons should be available for free for everyone withing 2-3 weeks. 

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@Reitanna wrote:

are link shorteners in violation of this rule, like adf.ly?

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As long as a payment from users is not required, link shorteners are not a violation of the rule.

However, as some link shorteners are more trustworthy than others, and again as common courtesy, you may want to consider to which point you want to put your users at risk when choosing where to link them.

-Mai

[Reitanna]

how can I go about reporting websites that require payment?

[Reitanna]

yeah, actually, I had forgotton I wrote that, so you mentioning it made me go, "oh s***!" and change it. -_-

[crinrict]

HI @Reitanna

Here's instructions to report stuff: https://help.ea.com/en-us/help/faq/how-to-report-cheat-hack-scam-websites-to-ea/

Don't publicly name and shame.

[EricaD26]

Hi sorry to hickjack but for clarification does mean that player are not allowed to make horses in the sims 3 then charge real money to give to someone else. Like PayPal and deviart points?

[crinrict]

HI @EricaD26

if you also make it available for free, you can do that, otherwise no.

[Trisimian]

Mai you said:

As per the User Agreement, all user generated content (UGC) cannot be restricted by the creator if they use EA game assets.

Does this mean that if a person created a piece of UGC from scratch or from building blocks ( meshes textures ect) not associated with EA that the creators can do as they like with the content including putting it behind a "paywall" indefinitely?

The EA TOS states:

You may not upload UGC that infringes a third party's intellectual property rights or that violates the law, this Agreement or a third party's right of privacy or right of publicity.

Does this mean that UGC created from scratch is the intellectual property of the creators and not EA?


I have read:

Once the work is lawfully sold or even transferred gratuitously, the copyright owner's interest in the material object in which the copyrighted work is embodied is exhausted.

Does this mean that once I buy a copy of your game (or any copyrighted material for that matter) that I can freely upload and distribute it at will?

Finally I have seen that EA and Microsoft Visual Studio (among others) use . package files, is this file extension and "EA asset" or would it be considered "freeware" as a computer language?

Thanks for your prompt response
Trisimian

[yavannah79]

Hi

I like to report [Removed by CM] because their stuff is still behind the paywall and they use Patreon too. You should check that place. In my opinion, they don't follow EA's TOU at all, but violate it. Especially when download prices are quite high. Also, some other cc creators have unauthorized meshes. There is a time there for their own, but also for others. I thought it would be good to bring this up.
By the way, the site is owned by [Removed by CM]

I also apologize for my possibly poor English skills. English is not my native language.

[EA_Darko]

Hey @yavannah79 I edited your post to remove mention of other users as naming another user and imply that they are in breach of the rules is considered naming and shaming and is something which is against the AHQ User Rules and Guidelines which you can find here: https://answers.ea.com/t5/help/faqpage

Darko

[Reitanna]

@EA_Darko instead, you should look into it like you're supposed to. they are most likely breaking the rules.