[Hannes44]

I'm building a realistic route, located in Austria, including timetables with hundreds of trains etc. I'd like to release it as WIP. My main problem is that most of the trains necessary for realistic traffic are old MSTS models from diverse authors. It is impossible to contact most of these people, many have left the railsim scene or changed websites and contacts. So their consent to distribute their models with the route is not available. Without rolling stock the route makes no sense. What to do? I'm clueless....

[rickloader]

Your question touches on copyright, and that is a very sensitive subject . The following suggestion may anger some .
If the models were freeware and obtained from a public site the authors intended their models to be used on freeware routes. Most likely the authors would give permission if they could be contacted. If you distribute without permission, you would have to take personal responsibility . That means you can`t upload to any trainsim host. You would have to distribute from your own website, cloud, github etc.
I would make a very clear statement of all the trains included in the download. Their origin, author, and if permission has been obtained. Offer to remove any models if the author objects. Give a contact email.
I have included a lot of trains with my route and model authors have all been very generous with permission. A very few models do not have permission, and no one has objected.
Rick

[darwins]

There are a few freeware models where the copyright specifically excludes redistribution. For example

YOU MAY NOT REDISTRIBUTE THESE SOUNDS IN ANY FORM

It may be better to avoid items that have such a blanket statement. Most models tend to say something to the effect that they can be redistributed providing that they remain freeware and the original author is recognised.

[Weter]

Hello.
I agree:
Almost every piece of MSTS/ORTS content is being accompanied with README and/or Licence text (*.rtf) files, where authors specify conditions and wishes to end-users, how can they treat with given content. Naturally, contact emails are often provided too. I see, that latter is likely obvious to You.
Next is critical: as most of authors are interested in distribution of their models, they most often say: "You may redistribute this content, but free of charge, retaining my name and contact data, as I am an author, (so, permission/negotiation is demanded, when one wants to sell content, either authors prohibit to sell that in any conditions)
Also, some authors state, that anyone can modify (repaint, customize, advance) their work, and even provide the source materials (GPL-type license), while others either prohibit any modifications, or demand, that instead of content, one provide a link to authors website, where most recent version of content is available, and where any feedback about given content is expected.

So, evaluate all available README and Licence text files, and You'll see.
Indeed, try to contact with every author, who's contacts are still actual: this will encourage them, and maybe, you'll get newer version of Your favorite content with permission, or maybe, author even would be interested to customize his work for better fitting Your project (or he would give You advices how to do it by Yourself)

As an author of content, I can have 2 approaches in that:
1. When I don't plan to develop my model further (or have decided to retire from content creation completely) I only may want to be mentioned as an author of the base model.
2. When I'm still interested in further development, I may demand, that all modifications must be conventioned with me, prior to distribution, or that there must be clear notation, that modification of a base model of this author (myself) was made by this co-author. And from where that base model in its most recent version is available.
(That's because I'm not responsible for modifiers possible mistakes, but at the same time is interested on feedback about the base model for its further development)

[charland]

When I release a route, even if all the rolling stock is my own, I never include the rolling stock with the route because it would make the size of the route huge. Aside from that, including rolling stock in a route, maybe the end user already has it so why download it twice. I make a "Required Rolling Stock" list that includes all the rolling stock needed to run the activities and it's the end user who needs to go into normally the Trainsim library to download each file.

Trainsim does not require anyone to register to download from the library or what sometimes is a lengthy time to be accepted here and at first have limited access to the library.

Paul :-)

[Genma Saotome]

Don't include content with your route for which you don't have permission to distribute. The best answer to your concern is to find where some / many / all can be downloaded and include that information with your route.

FWIW the Copyright issue pertains only to the textures. You may, w/o concern, distribute your own version of .eng and .wag files. W/specific regard to the .s files, truth is they are not copyrightable as they lack creativity -- there is a huge amount of skilled work and time present but none of that effort is creative because the goal is to simply replicate the appearance of a real object as a mesh and therefore the result is not protected by copyright. What protects them is an honor system tied to whatever request they wrote and over the years members of almost every board have been quick to denounce people who ignore those requests. Which leads me to remind everyone what this boards policy is:

Forget about copyright issues, most of us can't afford the lawyers anyway. Instead respect your peers and follow their requests regarding distribution. You may be disappointed by that but it really is the decent thing to do.

[Weter]

Quote

Trainsim does not require anyone to register to download from the library or what sometimes is a lengthy time to be accepted here and at first have limited access to the library.

Paul :-)

It does (at least till last year): one can search, but when clicks "download" he old be ordered to register first.

Quote

Forget about copyright issues, most of us can't afford the lawyers anyway. Instead respect your peers and follow their requests regarding distribution. You may be disappointed by that but it really is the decent thing to do.

That's what I wanted to say: at first, follow authors requests, stated in accompanying text files.

[charland]

Times have changed, at one time you only needed to register to post in the forum.

Paul :-)

[Weter]

Aha, I can't even open its homepage now: cloud flare.