Texture discussion and question..

I had a modifiable hair and enlarged a piece to get a snapshot. Using that texture, I created a flexiprim ponytail sinc eit is my preferred SL hairstyle and I found none I liked on the market. (I also found no black hair textures except in huge packs)

The original designer of the texture has a full perms copy of the hair, and permission to sell it and keep 100% of the profit from by flexibase. The only thing I asked was credit on the creation. A few of my friends will be getting the ponytail- but in a no modify, no transfer, copy only form. They will not be able to take the texture (this creator has had trouble before, I know, and I only sought a special hair for me, nothing more. I refuse to sell or allow anyone other than the original designer to sell this hair).

I feel that giving a full perms copy to the original creator of the texture, and only asking credit on the original design (inspiration for others, and it was partly drawn from one of their designs, its a basic one) is reparations enough.

What I ask here is if you had such a hair texture, or wall, on a modify product, would you feel such a usage was allowable. I would, myself. But I'd like to hear other opinions.

Selling you copy, modify hair will let you adjust the size, style etc. to your wants and needs. Since you've obviously built a hair style you like from the texture you were given, why not simply modify the prims in the hair they've sold you to the style you like? I'm currently trying to do that with a flexi-style I [/i]mostly[/i] like without qualms.

Discussing with the original seller what you've done and why might have led to them selling "your" style on perhaps named after you in perpetuity so everyone knows where it comes from.

Taking the texture from their prim (whether or not it was theirs originally or a full perms one they've bought) is starting to tread into dangerous ground IMO. The end result is similar, but you didn't have a copy of the texture, you had to acquire one. Never mind that there are several ways to do that, IRL copying a CD onto tape for you mates, or burning a copy of a DVD for you mates is still copyright piracy and although many people do it, people do get prosecuted for it both IRL and under DCMA in SL.

I'm honestly not sure where I stand, it's very, very grey. Things this murky I'd tend to stay away from on principle, I don't like paying the lawyers to sort it out.

[/i][/i]

An aside I will add. If the designer chooses to ask me to remove the snapshot and simply edit the original hair, I will do so. The main reason I did not do this before was the prim shape: Torii cannot be made flexi. Perhaps I skirted DMCA violation. But at least I was honest enough to tell the designer, and give them a full perms copy (and refuse to sell it or allow anyone else to grab the texture or resell)- even if they merely use it for a 'base' to design off of.

Thank you for your opinion. Where I posted before got no answer.

Me no understand!

I am not sure I understand what you are doing, but if you are taking a snapshot of the original hair texture and just using it for yourself, I am pretty sure it would fall under "fair use" since it's a personal, non-commercial use. This would be the case even if the original hair texture was not freely given or copy/mod. You would certainly not be breaking any laws.

If you mean morally, instead of legally, then if you are using a texture that is 100% not your own (you didn't change it at all), then IMO you are obligated to put some kind of notification up that the hair texture was made by <insert name> or at least based on their work. If it's a snapshot that you have significantly altered in some way then maybe not even that.

If I have completely misunderstood, then ... nevermind.

Yep, just for me though I may give a no mod, no transfer copy to a few friends, but I ensure they can't rip the texture or sell it. All the profit from the texture use go to its original designer.