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Info Wanted: Hypothetical Question About OT.com Projects

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 (Edited)

Since Lucasfilm owns the rights to all of these resources that people use in their projects here, could Lucasfilm theoretically take one of the high-end quality completed projects and release it as their own official product, with no credit to the original OT.com editor? I would say they legally could, though it would be unlikely. Just something I’ve been thinking about, and I wanted to see what others thought.

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Super Mario Bros. - The Wicked Star Story
"Ah, the proverbial sad sack with a wasted wish."
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I was actually thinking about this recently too. I'm pretty sure though that legally they wouldn't be able to do this. Although Lucasfilm owns the rights to the movies they wouldn't have the right to release any fan edit without permission from the creator or monetary compensation. A high-end fan edit would have had a lot of work done to it,whether it be editing, sound or FX work so Lucasfilm would have to pay the relevant fees for the work undertaken before they had a chance to do this. On the other hand this wouldn't necessarily stop Lucasfilm recreating any fan edit with their own company resources and releasing it as their own and maybe just put a small credit somewhere if at all.

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I don't know, though. I mean, it's not as though Lucasfilm had a pre-written agreement with the editors in advance. Plus everything has a bumper at the front saying that the project is a not-for-profit experiment, advising free distribution among those with copies of the source materials. Obviously, the company with the license has the most legal right of obtaining, owning and reproducing their own licensed materials, and with no pre-written agreement of reimbursement, I can't see any company deciding to reimburse the editor. With some fan projects, it would almost be as though Lucasfilm came across a variant of their own product, with 95% of the work already completed for them. At most, I could only see them redesigning menus and the like to keep in line with company templates, removing "shout outs" and other similar markings (logos, bumpers, etc) and removing "offensive" material (i.e. non-canon). For the editor, I could see name credit being possibly given, but not much more.

Again, though, I can't see them wanting to do this necessarily with most of our projects here, but I do think they could do it with little hassle.
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Super Mario Bros. - The Wicked Star Story
"Ah, the proverbial sad sack with a wasted wish."
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The only reason it's unlikely is because of the publicity backlash that would surely follow any move by Lucasfilm to do so. Legally, there wouldn't be jack any of us could do about getting shut down and our stuff rereleased by Lucasfilm, because this is all (theoretically) a breach of copyright anyway.

But Lucasfilm couldn't afford the publicity: George Lucas, corpulent and successful filmmaker, steals fanboy's ideas for his own? He'd be a laughingstock professionally and in the public's eye. Plus it might bring on a reaction from various entertainment industry guilds against him...
"My teaching is like a raft used to cross a river. Only a fool would carry the raft around after he reached the other side!"
--Buddha
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I think the last thing George's Lucas cares about is becoming a laughing stock. Hell he can't even give the movies that made his career a worthwhile release.

“I love Darth Editous and I’m not ashamed to admit it.” ~ADigitalMan