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Can someone from Oculus explain a detail from the EULA?

vonFelty
Honored Guest
http://www.reddit.com/r/oculus/comments/2bnjad/noticed_this_from_the_license_agreement_in_the/

You may use the headset to develop commercial software intended solely for use with the headset, provided that you may only distribute such software via distribution channels that have been approved by Oculus in writing.


What does that mean exactly?

If you release software that is specially made only for the rift you have to use the Oculus Rift store?

Also what about adult software titles? Is it possible to make software that's content won't be approved by the official store and sell it on your own website?
45 REPLIES 45

Gizmotweak
Explorer
"HartLabs" wrote:
"Gizmotweak" wrote:
software intended solely for use with the headset


This would not cover software that uses the standard SDK as that software is for use with any Oculus headsets and is under the SDK EULA. If this was intended to be agreed to by all developers, it would be in the SDK EULA not a product use agreement. Software intended solely for use with the DK2 that the SDK EULA agreement wouldn't apply would have to circumvent the SDK and hence be an alternate SDK/driver. This clause requires developers of such software to get written permission from Oculus to distribute.



software intended solely for use with the headset
software intended for use solely with the headset

Two different meanings...the former is their statement but the later would be more in line with your argument I believe...

...but I could be wrong...its open to interpretation...which is why its a potentially big problem
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superkev72
Honored Guest
Argument over this EULA clause is kinda silly considering if you want it to evaporate you just add support for anything else. I think this is a non-issue as anyone can ignore it by support for non Oculus applications or even any other vr device.

vonFelty
Honored Guest
"superkev72" wrote:
Argument over this EULA clause is kinda silly considering if you want it to evaporate you just add support for anything else. I think this is a non-issue as anyone can ignore it by support for non Oculus applications or even any other vr device.


That's why I am asking. Do you simply have to say it works with a monitor? Does that mean you are forbidden to advertise that it works on the Oculus Rift?

HartLabs
Honored Guest
"Gizmotweak" wrote:
software intended solely for use with the headset
software intended for use solely with the headset

I see no difference, can you explain how you interpret them differently?

"superkev72" wrote:
Argument over this EULA clause is kinda silly considering if you want it to evaporate you just add support for anything else. I think this is a non-issue as anyone can ignore it by support for non Oculus applications or even any other vr device.

Many of us are sole proprietorship owners. We have to deal with all sorts of license and other legal issues on our own all the time. Lawyers are expensive and not always needed. Knowing the exact details of what is required of you when distributing your software is essential. It is my interpretation that adding support eliminates this clause. The reason we are discussing it is because others did not interpret it that way.

jrbm
Honored Guest
"vonFelty" wrote:
"superkev72" wrote:
Argument over this EULA clause is kinda silly considering if you want it to evaporate you just add support for anything else. I think this is a non-issue as anyone can ignore it by support for non Oculus applications or even any other vr device.


That's why I am asking. Do you simply have to say it works with a monitor? Does that mean you are forbidden to advertise that it works on the Oculus Rift?

Add support for Morpheus and you'll be fine i guess.

Darcanis
Adventurer
"Stryker" wrote:
Fire and brimstone coming down from the sky! Rivers and seas boiling!
Forty years of darkness! Earthquakes, volcanoes!
The dead rising from the grave!
Facebook buying the Oculus Rift!
Human sacrifice! Dogs and cats, living together! Mass hysteria!


Not to derail the thread but nice tweak to the classic Ghostbusters quote!!! +1 😄


Thanks! I've been using it since the announcement and everyone went nuts. lol
You're the first to notice!! 😄

Ps Now that I think about it I so want a Ghostbusters VR game!!
Fire and brimstone coming down from the sky! Rivers and seas boiling! Forty years of darkness! Earthquakes, volcanoes! The dead rising from the grave! Facebook buying the Oculus Rift! Human sacrifice! Dogs and cats, living together! Mass hysteria!

Stryker
Honored Guest
"HartLabs" wrote:
"Gizmotweak" wrote:
software intended solely for use with the headset


This would not cover software that uses the standard SDK as that software is for use with any Oculus headsets and is under the SDK EULA. If this was intended to be agreed to by all developers, it would be in the SDK EULA not a product use agreement. Software intended solely for use with the DK2 that the SDK EULA agreement wouldn't apply would have to circumvent the SDK and hence be an alternate SDK/driver. This clause requires developers of such software to get written permission from Oculus to distribute.


Let's hypothetically say this does just only apply to the DK2 and not the consumer release. First, off what's to say that this clause isn't still carried over from this current EULA or even made potentially worse come CV1? Also, a lot of developers aren't necessarily in a situation to simply push back the release of their title if CV1 doesn't come out in time. The reason I say that is if CV1 had less restrictions on a given title's release, then some devs would be bound to the current EULA in DK2. This could potentially damage a lot of things and limit the dev from getting the most out of their hard earned work and potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars spent in R&D and/or direct development to get the title to the market.

Now, hopefully this isn't that bad of a situation when OVR addresses this but they really need to change how this is worded. If this is how DK2 is going to launch, it might not bode well for the future of the CV1 release. Also, I just mentioned that OVR announced the shipment 1 day after the acquisition from FB. The SDK was simply a cover up to delay things until that deal was finalized. Also, if OVR sent DK2s out before that deal went through, and then FB comes in and wants to update the EULAs of everyone right after release, it would be much harder for them to do and FB probably told them they have to wait. That's why the couple of people that did receive it, had a strict NDA sitting in the box that probably had somewhere in there that by using the DK2, they were bound to any agreements being updated in the future. The legal depts. pushed these together and bam, 1 day later, notices of shipment. That's not a simple coincidence when a process of paperwork with a deal like this has so many implications. Also, whether or not OVR acts independently of them and Mark is just writing a paycheck, anything that they want or the legal teams want will happen no if ands or buts even from Palmer now regardless of his own personal views. They own them and if this happens to be foreshadowing of FB trying to monopolize the VR market or any OVR dev, things are going to get bad very quick.

And yes, lol this is all speculation but no where near being considered as far fetched after the track record since the original announcement of the acquisition in the first place a couple months back. But I'm going to be very interested to see how things turn out and I hope for OVRs sake, they do what's best for the developers and the industry.
DK1: Shipped DK2: Shipped

Stryker
Honored Guest
"Darcanis" wrote:
"Stryker" wrote:
Fire and brimstone coming down from the sky! Rivers and seas boiling!
Forty years of darkness! Earthquakes, volcanoes!
The dead rising from the grave!
Facebook buying the Oculus Rift!
Human sacrifice! Dogs and cats, living together! Mass hysteria!


Not to derail the thread but nice tweak to the classic Ghostbusters quote!!! +1 😄


Thanks! I've been using it since the announcement and everyone went nuts. lol
You're the first to notice!! 😄

Ps Now that I think about it I so want a Ghostbusters VR game!!


Haha... I saw it a couple months back when quickly checking out the forums and wanted to send a virtual high five in your direction buddy. 😄

"Ps Now that I think about it I so want a Ghostbusters VR game!!" -> Hell yes, I second this. I was born back in '82 and remember being a kid with my brother and setting up a fort in our living room which was our makeshift Ecto Firehouse with the old Proton Pack and Trap toys... man, good times. But yea, VR GB all the way, but hard to want anything else after Harold Ramis' passing 😞
DK1: Shipped DK2: Shipped

HartLabs
Honored Guest
"Stryker" wrote:
Let's hypothetically say this does just only apply to the DK2 and not the consumer release. First, off what's to say that this clause isn't still carried over from this current EULA or even made potentially worse come CV1?

If this was carried over, I would interpret it as applying to writing driver software for the CV1. Let me be more clear.

I do not think the clause applies to games. I think it applies to custom drivers.

Stryker
Honored Guest
"HartLabs" wrote:
"Stryker" wrote:
Let's hypothetically say this does just only apply to the DK2 and not the consumer release. First, off what's to say that this clause isn't still carried over from this current EULA or even made potentially worse come CV1?

If this was carried over, I would interpret it as applying to writing driver software for the CV1. Let me be more clear.

I do not think the clause applies to games. I think it applies to custom drivers.


Oh I hear you. I had thrown the quote but was gonna throw a quick thing that said it wasn't necessarily because you were referring to that but didn't edit it in time. It was more of a general statement than directed. 🙂

But as far as the drivers, can you be a little more specific on what you mean by custom drivers? Are you talking about like the ones that came out after the DK1 release that you could use to lets say play Skyrim or Mass Effect w/ DK1? But then again, I think those are just modified dlls of the original game if I'm not mistaken or something similar to ENB injection.
DK1: Shipped DK2: Shipped