[STEAM GAME DEVELOPMENT] Are Copyrighted "Temp Tracks" Allowed for Private Access Games?

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clover 10 hours ago

DO NOT ANSWER UNLESS YOU HAVE A DEFINITIVE ANSWER PLEASE! (and thank you :’>) This is a question for Valve employees or those who have previous experience as a game developer for Steam, not for random people just looking to share their theories on the matter…

I am looking to put a private access game on steam for private alpha testing purposes, and was wondering if you are allowed to use copyrighted songs as a “temp track” or “scratch music” for the game - in other words, if you can temporarily have copyrighted songs in your game purely for the purposes of conveying what kind of soundtracks you want your final game to have, to a private audience of QA testers before, and only before the game ever sees a public release. This is a common practice in both game development and movie production,[en.wikipedia.org] so I was curious to know if doing this will cause any issues when uploading the game to Steam, as this is something I have already been doing when sending private alpha builds out to playtesters just so they know what types of music tracks will be in the game before official music is added in its place. This copyrighted music will not ever see its way into a public release of any sort, and gameplay using this copyrighted music will not ever see the public in any way.

For example, if I wanted to use the soundtrack to a pre-existing show (say, Neon Genesis Evangelion, for example) on the title screen of my game only during private alpha testing to give the private QA testers a feel for what the final game’s main menu track will sound like, will this stop me from publishing my game on Steam or releasing private alpha builds to a select few QA testers (or cause similar issues with having my game on Steam) before release? Again, this copyrighted music will not ever see its way into a public release of any sort, and gameplay using this copyrighted music will not ever see the public in any way, as it is just being used as a temp track[en.wikipedia.org].

Is this practice allowed for private access, invite-only Steam games in alpha, or will I be restricted to using only songs that are public domain / creative commons or made myself during private alpha testing in order to give the game a temp-track?

Last edited by clover; 10 hours ago

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Showing 1-15 of 43 comments

Wolfpig 10 hours ago

no.

Even if it is a closed alpha, as you would make it Public (even if it is just a small Group) you still would need to get the permission of the Copyright holder to use the tracks.

That has Btw nothing to do with steam itself.

Hi Im Swat 10 hours ago

DO NOT ANSWER

You cannot tell people not to respond. This is a public a forum which means anyone is welcome to reply to threads. Only the moderators can enforce rules, normal users cannot.

This is a question for Valve employees

Nobody from Steam / Valve monitors the forums.

On topic: You need permission to use copyright protected content no matter where you plan to use it. No ifs or buts, you MUST have permission to use it. You may wish to read up on copyright laws if you're going to develop content.

Last edited by Hi Im Swat; 10 hours ago

76561197960377633 10 hours ago

you can not

Mad Scientist 9 hours ago

You need permission or licensing to use copyright protected material, even for a closed private-access/private-invite model. When you upload to Steam you're saying that you own, have a license to, or have permission for everything in the game.
If you were caught using copyrighted music, you could get a DMCA Takedown, which could result in legal consequences. Being private does not justify the risk involved, there's often HumbleBundles for Game Development that are big libraries of music & audio that can be used in games.

If you don't own it, don't have a license to it, or don't have permission; don't use it. Even for a private alpha.

datCookie 9 hours ago

Originally posted by Mad Scientist:
You need permission or licensing to use copyright protected material, even for a closed private-access/private-invite model. When you upload to Steam you're saying that you own, have a license to, or have permission for everything in the game.
If you were caught using copyrighted music, you could get a DMCA Takedown, which could result in legal consequences. Being private does not justify the risk involved, there's often HumbleBundles for Game Development that are big libraries of music & audio that can be used in games.

If you don't own it, don't have a license to it, or don't have permission; don't use it. Even for a private alpha. :smokeybear:

Could also get you (the OP) blacklisted from ever publishing anything on Steam ever agin.

Not worth it.

VaLiuM 9 hours ago

Originally posted by clover:
Is this practice allowed for private access, invite-only Steam games in alpha, or will I be restricted to using only songs that are public domain / creative commons or made myself during private alpha testing in order to give the game a temp-track?

The question is, why you desperately need copyrighted material in the first place especially since there are dozens of free alternatives out there and with the rest, you answered the topic yourself.

Chika Ogiue 9 hours ago

You should be asking this in the steamworks developer group.

VaLiuM 8 hours ago

I can imagine if only 1 copy gets leaked to the public (which is not uncommon nowadays), you most likely will have a legal problem when the copyright holder finds out.

Check the licenses and use cases and then decide for yourself, not worth the risk imo.

clover 8 hours ago

Originally posted by Chika Ogiue:
You should be asking this in the steamworks developer group.

still waiting to get access to the steamworks developer group, was just posting here until then but ur right i dont think ppl here are really going to know what theyre talking about, ty for that

clover 8 hours ago

Originally posted by Hi Im Swat:
On topic: You need permission to use copyright protected content no matter where you plan to use it. No ifs or buts, you MUST have permission to use it. You may wish to read up on copyright laws if you're going to develop content.

not true, look up fair use laws... you shouldnt be speaking on these things so assuredly when you dont know what you're talking about :/

#10

Mad Scientist 8 hours ago

Originally posted by clover:
On topic: You need permission to use copyright protected content no matter where you plan to use it. No ifs or buts, you MUST have permission to use it. You may wish to read up on copyright laws if you're going to develop content.

look up fair use laws... there are ifs and buts i dont think you should be speaking so confidently on this kinda stuff

In no way would a game uploaded to Valve with copyright material not belonging to a Developer nor licensed or given permission to a Developer be a "Fair Use" case.

Originally posted by Valve Legal:
Claims of Copyright Infringement

Valve respects the intellectual property rights of others, and we ask that everyone using our internet sites and services do the same. Anyone who believes that their work has been reproduced in one of our internet sites or services in a way that constitutes copyright infringement may notify Valve via this page.

Last edited by Mad Scientist; 8 hours ago

#11

clover 8 hours ago

Originally posted by Wolfpig:
no.

Even if it is a closed alpha, as you would make it Public (even if it is just a small Group) you still would need to get the permission of the Copyright holder to use the tracks.

i think you're misunderstanding the difference between a private alpha and a closed alpha - private alpha will not be available to people just by asking to join a waitlist or anything, it will be QA team that i hand pick myself and will not be available to the public at all; you're thinking of a closed alpha, which i didnt mention at all. mainly responding just in case anyone else also has this misunderstanding as well

#12

clover 8 hours ago

Originally posted by Mad Scientist:
Originally posted by clover:

look up fair use laws... there are ifs and buts i dont think you should be speaking so confidently on this kinda stuff
In no way would a game uploaded to Valve with copyright material not belonging to a Developer nor licensed or given permission to a Developer be a "Fair Use" case. :smokeybear:

Originally posted by Valve Legal:
Claims of Copyright Infringement

Valve respects the intellectual property rights of others, and we ask that everyone using our internet sites and services do the same. Anyone who believes that their work has been reproduced in one of our internet sites or services in a way that constitutes copyright infringement may notify Valve via this page.

thats up to interpretation according to section 107 of the copyright act:

Effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work: Here, courts review whether, and to what extent, the unlicensed use harms the existing or future market for the copyright owner’s original work. In assessing this factor, courts consider whether the use is hurting the current market for the original work (for example, by displacing sales of the original) and/or whether the use could cause substantial harm if it were to become widespread.

seeing as this unlicensed use of copyrighted material is only going to occur to a very small, tight-knit private testing audience, there would be practically 0 harm done towards the profits and existing/future market for the copyright owner's original work; assuming this could not be proven by the copyright holders in a court of law, this use of copyrighted material as a temp track would fall under fair use.

Last edited by clover; 8 hours ago

#13

Mad Scientist 8 hours ago

Originally posted by clover:
Originally posted by Wolfpig:
no.

Even if it is a closed alpha, as you would make it Public (even if it is just a small Group) you still would need to get the permission of the Copyright holder to use the tracks.
i think you're misunderstanding the difference between a private alpha and a closed alpha - private alpha will not be available to people just by asking to join a waitlist or anything, it will be QA team that i hand pick myself and will not be available to the public at all; you're thinking of a closed alpha, which i didnt mention at all. mainly responding just in case anyone else also has this misunderstanding as well :imSorry:

It doesn't matter if it's in Alpha or a "closed" condition, you're uploading content to Valve, telling them you own, have rights or licensing to everything, or have permission for everything in the game. Alpha, closed or not; you risk causing legal problems if anyone holding a copyright finds out.

Originally posted by clover:
seeing as this unlicensed use of copyrighted material is only going to occur to a very small, tight-knit private testing audience, there would be practically 0 harm done towards the profits and existing/future market for the copyright owner's original work.

Just use placeholder samples, it's nor Fair Use. Read the documentation and questions you're answering when beginning to upload anything, let alone publishing anything.

You can do whatever you want on your own private network for testing, but not once you upload to a company especially an actual store what you can do even for testing changes. This is a commercial environment, not a private testing environment.

Last edited by Mad Scientist; 8 hours ago

#14

clover 8 hours ago

Originally posted by Mad Scientist:
You can do whatever you want on your own private network for testing, but not once you upload to a company especially an actual store what you can do even for testing changes. This is a commercial environment, not a private testing environment.

the whole point of private beta testing is that it will NOT be hitting the steam store; nothing you're saying about a commercial environment applies... steam private tests can only be accessed via invitation, and even then these games are only added to your library, not to the steam store itself...

#15

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Date Posted: 28 Oct @ 3:53am

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