Most people aren't willing to pay much to browse info-free, self-gratifying
narcissistic Web pages, but some people are apparently willing to pay
hundreds of dollars for a well-crafted polygonal humanoid.
You may note that the commercial modeling companies have avoided VRML
like a plague. They can't sell models to VRML-page builders, because
the data will be given away. There is a geowing and probably infinite
demand for nicely formed models that can be used in animation.
As VRML matures, I'm sure there will be a geowing demand for skilled
modelers who can produce interesting content on demand - for models
that will be essentially given away through VRML pages.
It's interesting to consider that the commercial modeling companies
would probably allow the use of their models if VRML was pushing
around rendered bitmap images of their models instead of the
polygons themselves, in the same way they grant you the right to
use the rendered image of their data in your for-hire animations.
I agree that conversion is merely a tool in the crime. Converting the
file from VRML to other formats merely covers your tracks by stripping
copyright strings, changing coordinates, tiling polygons, etc. I'm sure
the most common VRML to X converters will be present in the VRML browsers
themselves.
Derivative works are even harder to detect with 3D data. It can be
resampled, randomized, grid-snapped, filters, optimized, re-colored,
texture mapped, etc. and become very different than the original.
I'm sure a commercial modeling company could easily protect the
look-and-feel of their particular Statue of Liberty, if someone used
their data as the basis of their derivation - say, they only grabbed
the face and arm, optimized it, and made it stick out of a digital beach
in a VRML world. All they'd need to find is a judge and jury willing to
agree that the artwork was clearly "derived" from the other, no?
On the other hand, said commercial modeling company could probably
be prosecuted for unlawful derivation by the company that made the nifty
plastic model of the Statue of Liberty that they digitized to get that
polygonal model - if someone ever gets around to telling the plastic
model company that a digital model company used their artwork without
permission as the basis for their product.
Even beyond simple rip-offs, there's the larger issue of protected
properties like Star Wars. Lucasfilm has many high-priced lawyers that
are happy to bill for the hours it takes to chase down violators who
are profiting from the imagery of spaceships from their movies.
One might argue that Lucasfilm's artists were certainly derivative in
their conceptions of what a futuristic spaceship is supposed to look
like, or that their movies included dozens of rag-tag space ships,
or that they even used s tennis shoe as a ship in one scene, but
no matter. So in a similar vein, you shouldn't incorporate
Star Wars ships in your VRML worlds, either.
If anyone can cite an actual court case involving a 3D model, I'd love
to msar about it.
- John Foust
Syndesis Corporation
235 South Main Street
Jefferson, WI 53549 USA
(414) 674-5200
(414) 674-6363 FAX
[email protected]
http://www.webmaster.com:80/syndesis/
SIGGRAPH 96 Booth 2338