I had recently read about something, where someone had sent a message to LucasArts asking them if it was okay to port Star Wars game assets to another Star Wars game. This is what they got back from them as a response:

Supposed LucasArts Reply wrote:

Any and all game mods and mod elements relating to Star Wars regardless of
their source are the property of Lucasfilm LTD and can be used freely without permission in accordance with Lucasfilm copyright guidelines as outlined in the game's and/or mod tools EULA.
Modders hold no copyright or trademark claims over Lucasfilm LTD properties.
Permission is not required to use or create derivative works in accordance with Lucasfilm LTD copyright guidelines.
Which means anyone can use content from SWBF, SWBF2, Republic Commando, EaW, FoC or any other Star Wars game and put them into another Star Wars title.

Now I thought I would go and confirm this by sending LucasArts a message about it and see if I get the same response, however I would like to say that, if this is legit, then porting Star Wars game content to another Star Wars game is completely legal and no one should feel uncomfortable nor should they be worried about pending legal action.

I am posting this so that if anyone does port something from, say....SWG to SWBF2, it should be fine. I will be messaging LucasArts later and I will post an image verifying that this will be the same response I get regarding this touchy issue in the Star Wars game modding community.

However, this means that if we were modding, say, Company of Heroes, we cannot port over Empire at War stuff. But crossing Star Wars titles is completely legit, if this message is from an actual LucasArts employee.

Upon further study, here is a legal document in which I am sharing so everyone here knows (however, didn't psyc0fred leave a long time ago?):

Quote :

LEGAL INFORMATION FOR MODDERS

Any and all Star Wars creations, regardless of their source or creator,
are copyrighted and trademarked by Lucasfilm LTD ALL RIGHTS RESERVED and
can be used by anyone according to the copyright and trademark enforcement
policies of Lucasfilm LTD.

Any and all game mods and mod elements relating to Star Wars regardless of
their source are the property of Lucasfilm LTD and can be used freely without
permission in accordance with Lucasfilm copyright guidelines as outlined in
the game's and/or mod tools EULA.

Modders hold no copyright or trademark claims over Lucasfilm LTD properties.
Permission is not required to use or create derivative works in accordance
with Lucasfilm LTD copyright guidelines.

No entity can prohibit or allow the use or distribution of Lucasfilm LTD
properties but Lucasfilm LTD.

Any claim of ownership or rights must be resolved by the complaintant with
Lucasfilm LTD and no other entity.

Claiming rights over Lucasfilm LTD property not extended by Lucasfilm LTD
is a violation of copyright law.

All game-ready objects on this site are provided according to usage guidelines
outlined in the respective Jedi Knight/Academy/Outcast, Star Wars Battlefront I/II,
and Empire at War Game End User and Mod Tool License Agreements

Any derivative works become property of Lucasfilm LTD ALL RIGHTS RESERVED upon
distribution or release.

Where assets have not been prepared for the above games the Lucasfilm LTD
copyright guidelines have been followed for original derivative works.

For easy to understand information about copyrights, see:

http://www.srhs.net/aboutus/policies/copyright.php

http://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/faq-general.html#what


For privacy protection purposes the name and address of the element's
creators can be obtained by Lucasfilm LTD by contacting
psych0fred@hotmail.com


THESE LEVELS AND ELEMENTS ARE NOT MADE, DISTRIBUTED, OR SUPPORTED BY LUCASARTS,
A DIVISION OF LUCASFILM ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY LTD.
ELEMENTS TM & (C) LUCASARTS, A DIVISION OF LUCASFILM ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY LTD.

Make sence to me. Tought I have read topics in the SWG discussion board where at the time SWG was active, modders would ask SOE if they can export models to other games, there responce was NO! lol.

But since SWG is dead and after reading this statement, I feel safe export SWG to SWBF2. Good Job Commander!

Since it was active at the time and when they were making money, I have to assume they didn't want porting of models and such to other games, because it would take away from their sales. Makes sense, it's a business tactic. Many people feel now that SWG is now abandon ware (as you put it, dead), since it is no longer active officially. Off the record, there are the pre-CU emulators, but those codes are all server based, not client based. The models and stuff we saw client side was files on our computer in the SWG install path in the .tre files, so it's been perfectly legal for them from the start, since they were using their own code from scratch.

I just wanted to clear things up there. Have fun, commander!

I might as well get the actual death watch bunker put together then lol. Will be awesome to see even more life brought to SWBF2. Also the characters.

Icemember wrote:

I might as well get the actual death watch bunker put together then lol. Will be awesome to see even more life brought to SWBF2. Also the characters.

What I would like to see is Karag Drakas proper.

I could tell you the customization I used for him if you are able to be specific, if not, then that's fine. I would however love to see the Katarn Armor ported as well as the DC-15A rifle and DC-15S carbine. There's many weapons I'd like to see. Perhaps I will type up the full list in the new category topics Lephenix made for everyone.

Sure go for it.

Ok, so I pm acemastermind, and he pointed out a good point that the gaming companies whos models your using must give permission also besides lucas arts. So I sent a pm to SOE. See what there reply is.

Icemember wrote:

Ok, so I pm acemastermind, and he pointed out a good point that the gaming companies whos models your using must give permission also besides lucas arts. So I sent a pm to SOE. See what there reply is.

Alright, hope there's some good news. In the end, I always thought that the content in SWG fell under the "Star Wars" rule, however SOE did also work on the game.

But if it was not okay, we'd have had Pandemic and Petroglyph raising hell about this kind of stuff all over the place.

SOE, Pandemic, and Petroglyph most likely had to sign a contract that whatever content that they create, it falls under LucasArts/LucasFilm LTD jurisdiction.

Ok, it took them a while to respond. But they did. And heres what they had to say:

Greetings icemember,

Thank you for contacting Sony Online Entertainment. Unfortunately, we are unable to allow in-game content to be given or to be used outside of the original game. This violates copyrights for Sony Online Entertainment and LucasArts.

If you have any more questions or concerns, please let me know.

Answer Title: Contacting Customer Service
Answer Link: http://help.station.sony.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/10404

Regards,
TSR Tim A.

Contact SOE Account, Billing, and Technical Support
Phone, Chat, and Email: http://help.station.sony.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/28939

Icemember wrote:

Ok, it took them a while to respond. But they did. And heres what they had to say:

Greetings icemember,

Thank you for contacting Sony Online Entertainment. Unfortunately, we are unable to allow in-game content to be given or to be used outside of the original game. This violates copyrights for Sony Online Entertainment and LucasArts.

If you have any more questions or concerns, please let me know.

Answer Title: Contacting Customer Service
Answer Link: http://help.station.sony.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/10404

Regards,
TSR Tim A.

Contact SOE Account, Billing, and Technical Support
Phone, Chat, and Email: http://help.station.sony.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/28939

That freaking sucks. Add that to one more bad thing today...

I just heard back from them. They tell me there legal department dont except emails. But mail and phone calls. Heres what they had to dsay:

Hello,

Unfortunately they do not accept emails. You can send them a physical mail to the following address though.

Sony Online Entertainment
Legal Department
8928 Terman Court
San Diego, CA 92121

Phone: 858-577-3100

Regards,

Edward R
Senior Technical Support Agent
Sony Online Entertainment

I see....hmm...