Microsoft's new machinima licence

Here is a new machinima licence from Microsoft, who are gearing up for the release of Halo 3.

Important points:

• Attribution is required

• This licence is revocable “at any time and for any reason.”

• Can't do things “that the games don't normally permit” (no modding in order to get better cameras or shots).

• No commercial use, not even donations, not even contests, and presumably not film festivals - MS are reserving their ability to get a slice of that lucrative machinima pie.

• No fanfiction (!).

• No 'objectionable content' (there is no definition of what is objectionable).

• You can't grant rights to other people to build on your creations. This is a really confusing statement - they “don't mind if other people help you out”, but the permission comes from Microsoft and not the creator. Does this mean that licensing the finished film is forbidden? How exactly can other people “help” if they have a licence from Microsoft but not from the creator of the new copyright interests in a machinima film?

This licence shows that Microsoft are allowing machinima, but are keeping a very wide discretion on the types of content that can be created. Under a heading “What can't I do?”, the response is “It's tough to predict everything people will do, but there are some things that you can be sure will get our attention.”

The success of the Halo franchise is in a large part dependent on the engagement of the community, including machinima producers. I'm concerned because Microsoft are atetmpting to harness the creativity of their audience in order to promote their games, but are sending a very clear message that only films which are 'safe' are acceptable. Anyone who expects to create a really expressive and slightly gritty film can also expect the heavy hand of Microsoft's copyright lawyers to come down on them.

I'm concerned about the use of copyright as a tool of private censorship, and I'm concerned about companies who encourage and benefit from fan creation but give their fans little or no certainty as to what will and will not be permitted. Also, preventing these creators from even taking donations seems to go a little too far. It's clear that in any of these cases, traditional licence negotiation is going to be necessary, and this is a situation in which Microsoft holds a much better bargaining position than the fan-creators…