I’m creating a game, and I am using SketchUp to create most of my models. Should/would I include the SketchUp name and logo at the beginning of the game, like startup credits? And is that actually a requirement? And, do I have to get into legal copyright stuff to include the logo? What I’m saying is that If it is necessary to include SketchUp in the opening credits, I need to know. And if it isn’t, I still want to be courteous and include the logo and name anyways, since SketchUp has been so helpful in creating my models. But, if I have to dive into copyright matters to include the logo, then I’d best avoid it. I’m saying that if all I need to do is include the SketchUp name and logo, and then include “Copyright 2021 SketchUp” or “Copyright 2021 Trimble” and then “the SketchUp name and logo are… (etc.)” and not have to get involved in paperwork or anything, then I’ll include it. I don’t want to get involved in paperwork. And speaking of that, I also need to know if including the SketchUp logo would also require me to either also include the Trimble name and logo, or the Trimble copyright. And lastly, if it comes to be possible without paperwork or legal stuff, and all works good, then what logo would SketchUp/Trimble want me to use?
You should probably be sending your request to Trimble’s legal department to get correct answers to your questions.
Your profile indicates you are using the free web version of SketchUp. If that’s actually the case and you are planning to sell this game, you need to get a SketchUp license that permits this kind of use. That would be either SketchUp Shop or SketchUp Pro.
I’m not planning any kind of public selling of the game, it’s for my friends and I to play. It just feels right to put the logo in the startup credits because every game has this, and I want to include this as well. I mean, it makes the game look 200% more professional if it has actual opening credits, in my opinion.
So I’m not going to profit from the game. Absolutely not. I hate legal stuff and stuff, and all that financial mess.
The forum is not really a place for legal advice, and I am not a lawyer, but I understand that what you create with SketchUp is yours. It is more complicated if you include models created by others.
I don’t. I figured that would happen, so I avoided using anything from the 3D warehouse. And, where would I ask this question, then?
And as to the crediting, do you end every letter you write with “Written in Microsoft Word”? (if you happen to use that) I don’t think SketchUp differs in this respect from other software.
If you’re not going to sell it, maybe don’t worry about making it look professional with logos. If there is any chance you want to use any game you develop for commercial purposes you should use a Pro license for sure.
What do you mean? I do use that, and I don’t include “Written in Microsoft Word” at the end. I just, assumed that It’d be nice to put SketchUp in the opening credits to show that SketchUp was a big help. Because making a 3D model differs in complexity from typing something out. I could type it out on Notepad, even. But there are far fewer 3D modeling software than typing software, and SketchUp also happens to be really useful, and I often find myself going “Oh, that’s perfect! That’s absolutely just what I need in this situation!” while modeling, such as things like painting connected faces that share the same material, or all of the complex aligning features involved when making lines, or how I can switch from all alignments off, all on, or parallel/perpendicular only. Because trust me when I say this, Paint 3D is nothing compared to the capability, speed, and no-glitch-count to SketchUp. I mean, I wait 5 hours to save 1 simple thing in Paint 3D for it to crash and lose everything. And importing it won’t recognize the colors. But SketchUp is far better. And it is so useful that I wanted to include it in the opening credits. Because all other games I play have this, such as “WWise audio pipeline solution” or “Unreal Engine” in their opening credits, so I felt as though I should do the same, even if I won’t be publicizing my game.
Ah, well, I also want to make it look professional anyways, just because I prefer professional-looking over amateur-looking.
Sorry, I must have tried to answer a different question than you actually asked. I have never seen software that requires you to credit it when it has been used (ok, there are those Technicolor and Dolby Digital logos in movies) but I don’t think no one prohibits you from crediting if you want to. Using the logos, I cannot guess.
Right. That’s what I meant. So, does that mean that I can just add a SketchUp logo into it without any copyright stuff?
I was trying to find something that would help on this, and found a Trimble page that talks about how much permission you need to get in order to include a Trimble logo. Assuming it’s the same for SketchUp, getting permission to show the logo may be tough.
I don’t know of any requirements to include credit for SketchUp, that doesn’t mean there aren’t any, but if there are, it’s hard to find. You could mention with just text that the models were created in SketchUp, then if there is a requirement, you’ve complied with it, and if there isn’t a requirement, it’s a bit of free publicity for us.