Did Intel Steal Mass Effect Fan Art?

15 responses to “Did Intel Steal Mass Effect Fan Art?”

1. 

   tc

   April 19, 2013 at 8:49 am

   So just to make sue I have this right.
   The creator of the original artwork hasn’t accused Intel of anything.
   Bioware hasn’t accused anyone of anything.

   And ONE GUY who works at Bioware is pushing an issue………. This is why defamation cases exist.

   Reply
2. 

   zambayoshi

   April 19, 2013 at 9:35 am

   Interesting question. This wasn’t art commissioned by EA Bioware: it’s fan art.

   The fan art happens to depict part of a copyright IP belonging to EA Bioware, namely, Tali. Although to my knowledge, that image of Tali with her face mask off (or one similar) never appears in the game. The only similar image is the photo you get if you romance Tali, and it is still fairly different.

   I’d side with Intel on this. There is not going to be any confusion in the mind of the general public (as opposed to Mass Effect fans) as to EA Bioware endorsing Intel’s event.

   Reply
   1. 

      puck

      April 19, 2013 at 10:43 am

      1. If Intel didn’t pay the artist for the fan art it’s illegal. You can’t use people’s art without paying them.

      2. Even if Intel did pay the fanartist, the IP still belongs to Bioware. So unless Intel also pays Bioware, it’s illegal.

      I guess you’re saying that because Tali isn’t particularly recognisable, then it could be argued that it’s not really Tali, just some generic sci-fi image, so as long as point 1 is correct and Intel paid the artist, then it’s all okay? I don’t think that really hold up though, as the fan artist clearly stated that it is Tali from Mass Effect, and it still contains many unique design elements from the IP. This is why when you make fan art you can’t sell it.

      So in my mind Intel are clearly and legally in the wrong. CASE CLOSED! 100% TIME TO SUE!!!! …… well, that’s what I would have said before Glee seemed to have gotten away with ripping off Jonathan Coulton’s cover without any repercussions. Now I just don’t know any more.

      Reply
      1. 

         zambayoshi

         April 19, 2013 at 11:09 am

         I was assuming that when the Intel guy said it was licensed he meant that Intel had paid the artist (but not necessarily EA Bioware).

         EA Bioware owns the IP in Tali the character, but the only things that identify the fan art as Tali, as far as I can tell, are the swirl design and the purple colour on the hood. Even the swirl design is different, along with the front circular piece of the breather mask (no light). You’ll also notice that the face on the Intel advert is slightly different to the original fan art: 4 glowing nodes instead of 3 on the forehead, nose more rounded, no veins visible on the face, more light on the face.

         The real question is, is Intel passing itself off as having a relationship or endorsement with EA Bioware. I don’t think so.

         I still think that Intel has a decent chance of defeating EA Bioware if it comes to an argument in court, which hopefully it will not.

         Reply
3. 

   hydroleks

   April 19, 2013 at 10:05 am

   One could say they can steal from people but people can’t steal from them. But what makes me more curious about this is why would such a large company slap something like this together? Surely they could’ve done something more unique and/or better.

   Reply
4. 

   banderdash

   April 19, 2013 at 10:16 am

   Should have just used a stock image… like Bioware did.

   Reply
   1. 

      zambayoshi

      April 19, 2013 at 11:09 am

      Zzzzzzing! 😛

      Reply
5. 

   voiceofgosh

   April 19, 2013 at 10:37 am

   i would think they only need permission from Vespaz as he is the artist. while i love all the mass effect games, this was a contect peice of what tali looked like under her mask. if EA jump on this as their IP it puts an interesting precedent on Fan Art

   Reply
   1. 

      doc_what

      April 19, 2013 at 10:49 am

      Not at all. Fan art cannot be sold legally without licensing from the IP owner.

      Permission from the artist is great, but he doesn’t own the character.

      just because I draw a picture of Mario, it doesn’t mean I can then sell that picture to be used by any company, nor can they use it with my permission in any business venture.

      That has always been the case.

      Reply
      1. 

         fractripro

         April 19, 2013 at 11:13 am

         No you can not sell it but you do still own copyright on an image that infringed another copyright. So in fact Intel can be in trouble from two parties.

         Reply
         1. 

            fractripro

            April 19, 2013 at 11:15 am

            men at work vs kookaburra is a good example of this.

            Reply
6. 

   cookievendor

   April 19, 2013 at 11:38 am

   Is it just me or does Intel’s ‘rip’ look considerably worse than the original. I mean if you are gonna rip some i would have thought you’d at least try to make it look better. But that’s just my opinion no need to go spreading it around.

   Reply
7. 

   tree_lord

   April 19, 2013 at 2:03 pm

   Many derpy derps in this discussion, this never appeared in the game or art book, it is inspired by Bioware design. Inspiration is a lot different to 1:1 of existing IP.

   Reply
8. 

   Mannotron

   April 20, 2013 at 12:27 pm

   I guess it depends on what the legalities are for overpaints; clearly, if you look at the shape of the shroud, the Intel version is a repaint directly over the original, adding in a new face and extra details on the mask and such. If it were just ‘inspired’ by the original fan art,
   Either Intel used the artist’s assets without permission, which is bad, or they paid the artist a licensing fee to use his fan art as an asset, which is also bad. It’s all pretty murky territory, however.

   Reply