How exactly copyright works with "free games"?

Hey guy's, I've got a question too:
I'm working on a very very huge game which is free to playe that has script's from people (since I'm a not really smart guy) and they are all free for none commercial use, which is fine, I don't plan even to earn money since this is my chilshood dream and I grew up with pixel games and I love them and want people to play it.
Now for the question:
My game is currently on steam and I was thinking about adding soundtrack for 1$ to fund the game (scripts, assets, etc (also I do want to pay people for scripts since i appreciate their work and want to support them)), would there be any issue if I made a soundtrack sellable on steam and donating money to current and future people whom scripts I use/will use? The music is my own too and people can use them however they want.
Thanks

the big question you'd have to answer for that would be:
is the soundtrack part of the product, part of the game or intended to be used within the game

or is it an entirely seperate product, that has nothing to do with the game in and on itself

[ "this is a dlc / addition / replacement for soundtrack of gameX" ]
[ "this is the OST used within gameX, now for sale" ]
(you sell a part of the game)

[ "this is the soundtrack i composed for gameX but didn't used in game, please buy, if you want to support my creation of gameX" ]
(you use youre game to advertise a paid product)

is something verry, verry different then a
"from the creator of GameX, now, a new SoundtrackY"
(that - literally - has nothing to do with GameX and isn't part to nor intended to be used together with GameX)

It has nothing to do with the game. I thought about putting it in the main menu for a while while I see how to put soundtrack on STEAM (paperwork, builds, etc) and then removing it.
It won't be inisde the game and people who buy it can use it however they want: put in games, music videos, compilations ,etc.

don't, as soon as it's part of the game (even if it's "just" packing it together with the game or "just" part of the menu etc it IS part of the game)

that's the important part here,
if it's a entirely seperated product, that has nothing to do with the game, then it will not be bound to the eula of youre games assets

that's the important part here,
if it's a entirely seperated product, that has nothing to do with the game, then it will not be bound to the eula of youre games assets



So, it should be fine if I don't put it in game even for a short while before making the store page?

At that point it's basically just a music album. If the music isn't being used in the game they're entirely separate products; you charging for one doesn't negate the free status of the other.

Even if it is in his game, it's not bound by the EULA of any other assets in the game. Just like your Avery tilesets don't somehow become bound by the EULA of your Yanfly plugins just because you're using them together - there's no situation which will do that.

You have the right to use your music in your game, just like you have the right to use the tileset that Bob said you can use in free games. You also have the right to sell it separately, and you can do both simultaneously - you choosing to sell the music that you wrote does not somehow make your game not free.

for the first part you are right, i should have worded myself better there,
what i meant with "bound to the eula" was, that the assets used within the game will determine, how he can use the project and it's content

"not free" and "generating comercial value" are two different pair of shoes

to give a easy example: i could make a youtube video, that everyone around the world can watch for free ... and still create commercial value (with ads, advertisement etc) out of it

that are two pair of shoes
and most terms of use talk about generating commercial value, not about free/not free

This is correct, but still doesn't have anything to do with the question, as far as I can tell.

If you have a game that you're distributing for free, and you are also selling the soundtrack for the game, that is not gaining money from the game. It's not generating commercial value from the game, whatever terminology you want to use.

well, i'd say, that depends

if you are making a "free" game and sell assets intended to be used with / within the game in the form of DLC/Add-on, then it will create commercial value from the game

if you use youre game as an advertisement for these soundtracks and sell them as OST of your game, then i'd say, that it most likely also will create commercial value out of it (from that advertising)

if you keep/sell/advertise these two strictly seperated and don't use youre game to promote it then i could probably agree with you ...

It is illegal, but the odds of you being prosecuted in any way are virtually zero, unless the game becomes massively popular. People use copyrighted franchises, characters and music all the time on Instagram and YouTube, and it's extremely rare for anything to come of it. The only time I've seen YouTube pull these videos is if the video is an entire episode of a TV show or an entire song. It's not worth their time or money to go after everyone who posts copyrighted material.

Some companies will try to take down fan-made games (Nintendo is a prime example), but even then they'll just tell you to take down the game, and only if you don't comply will they pursue further legal action.

I'm an illustrator, and I've had a couple illustrations pulled from Redbubble and Etsy respectively for copyright violations. I received a warning from both websites, and that was all. I'm more hesitant to post fan art to those sites, and I consider which fan art to post when I do.

In other words, I wouldn't let it stop you from making your game. I don't see how making a video game with copyrighted content is any different than drawing fan art, writing fanfiction, cosplaying or making a video with copyrighted content.

That's not the question here. (I also think you're incorrect, DLC is a separate product from the game. You can freely distribute one and charge for the other, and so long as you're abiding by the terms of the assets you use in that specific product, it should be fine)
Can you tell me what portion of copyright regulations makes you think this? I am not a lawyer, so it's possible you're correct, but I've never read anything that would make me agree with that reasoning.
Um...you're all over the place here. Cosplaying has nothing to do with it - copyright doesn't encompass functional items, such as clothing. Some tools or logos in the costume might have copyright or trademarks, but that's not most things.

The rest of that is illegal and, regardless of your personal views, there are several forum rules that prohibit discussing illegal activities or promoting using ripped material (such as anime soundtracks).

@ddejan90 There is a thread in this section of the forum which specifically looks at legal issues around game making. Perhaps it would be helpful to post there?
https://forums.rpgmakerweb.com/inde...legal-clinic-advices-and-explanations.108398/

I've read most of the messages on the thread and it's still confusing, mostly because there is no mention of being able to sell soundtrack on a free game on steam. I did post the question there too. Thanks for your help

Generally speaking, what you're doing (asking random public people on the Internet) is the worst idea :stickytongue:

All of the pertinent laws are available for you to read, and if you're not confident in your ability to interpret them, the only good solution is to contact a copyright lawyer.

Anyone else can tell you how they interpret the laws they've read, but they're not in the courts and versed in legal precedence.

ontop of that, the laws in my country may be different from the ones in yours