"Made by the Community."
It is no secret that here at Cloud Imperium Games and Roberts Space Industries, we adore our fans and community. After all, without the support of our players, fans, and community, Star Citizen itself wouldn't be possible.
As we work towards completing both Star Citizen and Squadron 42, we understand that many of our fans wish to honor the games with works of their own. This is what this article will go over: guidance for our players and supporters that wish to create things centered in and around the 'Verse. It is quite long, and there are a lot of legal sounding terms and phrases, but this is necessary to cover the bases to ensure that all parties are working within the boundaries of copyright and intellectual property laws.
Please be sure to familiarize yourself with the foreword and important terms below, and then use the quick jump links to skip ahead to any part that is relevant to the fan project in question. All fan projects must use proper attribution and credit practices, which are outlined in this article as well.
If you've already read the Foreword and Terms, click here to skip to the quick jump links.
Foreword and Important Terms
If a fandom activity uses or involves any protectable (i.e. copyrighted or trademarked) content or properties (collectively, Intellectual Property or IP) from Star Citizen, Squadron 42, or otherwise owned by Roberts Space Industries (RSI) or its corporate affiliates, these boundaries must be respected.
RSI, however, does allow for limited fandom activities which involves its IP. These activities are generally granted in one of two forms: personal and non-commercial.
Personal
This means the use of RSI IP by yourself (an individual person), your immediate family and/or close friends only.
The Rule
- RSI allows this activity without express permission, however RSI reserves the right to withdraw this allowance at any time, especially if it is misused or abused.
Personal use is limited to six (6) individuals, including yourself. For more, please see “Non-commercial” below.
Non-Commercial
This means the use of RSI IP by yourself (an individual person) for other individuals, which is not sold for payment (or payment-in-kind), exchanged, or in support or pursuit of a business venture.
The Rule
- This use is granted by RSI in signed writing in the form of a Non-Commercial License.
- To request a Non-Commercial License please file a ticket with the Community Team via Support.
- We are not currently offering any Non-Commercial licenses.
- No means no, please do not submit multiple requests for this type of license, not all requests will receive a response.
- Permission is ONLY granted when the license is fully signed by yourself and RSI. No use is permitted before this is completed.
The Exception
- Images, Videos and Live Streams of RSI IP which follow the guidance below (“Made by the Community Notices”, “Video Use, and Streaming”, “Third-Party Platform Advertising”, “Fan Sites”, “Fan Fiction” and “Translation/ Fan Localization”) for the purposes of sharing with the world (including contest submissions) are generally exempt from needing written and express permission from RSI.
Limited-Commercial
Means the use of RSI IP by yourself (an individual person or legal entity) for other individuals, which is sold for payment (or payment-in-kind), but is NOT in support or pursuit of a business venture.
The Rule
- RSI does not generally allow Limited Commercial use of its IP.
The Exception
- RSI reserves the right to grant limited sales at cost or very limited profit on a case-by-case basis ONLY with express written permission from RSI in the form of a Limited Commercial License.
- To request a Limited Commercial License please file a support ticket with the Business Development Team via Support.
- We are not currently offering any Limited Commercial licenses.
- No means no, please do not submit multiple requests for this type of license, not all requests will receive a response.
- Permission is ONLY granted when the license is fully signed by yourself and RSI. No use is permitted before this is completed.
Commercial
Means the use of RSI IP by yourself (an individual person or legal entity) for other individuals, which is sold for payment (or payment-in-kind), and in support or pursuit of a business venture.
The Rule
- This use is prohibited. (i.e., for profit, side business, gig, advertising, clout, fundraising, donations, investment, paywalls, games of any kind etc.). We do not offer licenses at this time.
- DO NOT request a Commercial License via Support.
The Exception
- RSI reserves the right to enter commercial relationships with properly vetted and established vendors at any time.
Illustrative Examples
The currently most frequent examples of personal, non-commercial use are the making of one or two pieces of clothing or small crafts, such as 3d prints, cosplay items or costuming, key chains, patches, or mugs, for use by you, your spouse, children, or sibling.
3rd Party IP
Remember that you must respect the copyrights of 3rd parties.
Printing Permissions
If you need the help of a local print shop or clothing vendor for a personal use (RSI granted Licenses will include this permission); you may write to us indicating the vendor you intend to use, and, if reasonable, we generally grant this permission
3D Models/Printing
No permission is given to post, publish, upload, list, or offer our content to print-on-demand stores, 3d modelling, or other content websites for sale to or download by others.
Now that the basics are covered, let's get to the specifics!
Quick Jump Links:
- Attribution and Credit
- Fan Kit
- Fan Sites
- Fan Fiction
- Translation and Fan Localization
- Fan Film/Machinima Policy
- Bar Citizen (In-Person Fan Events)
Attribution and Credit
We provide guidance on attribution and credit notices in the fan kit documentation and on this page. It is good practice and highly recommended to provide attribution and credit notices in or on fan project materials to signal to other fans, the company, and the public at large that your fan uses are intended to be within the boundaries of fandom and not masquerading as official or licensed products which are subject to legal action or enforcement.
"Made by the Community" Notices
One of these logos should be included, along with the trademark notice indicated in the Fan Kit materials, in the corner of all imagery at no less than 50% opacity and of a legible size.
Community notice for other situations
Fan artwork:
Made By The Community
Fan site:
This is an unofficial Star Citizen Fan Site
Fan crafts:
This is a Fan Made item
Below are some examples to show you how the Star Citizen Made By The Community Logo, the community notice and trademark notice should be used:
Example using the Star Citizen Made By The Community Logo.
Example using the community notice.
Video Use and Streaming
Familiarize yourself with the video and streaming rules in our Terms of Service (“ToS”).
Most questions are answered in these sections:
Please also read our End User License Agreement (“EULA”).
All such uses should make it clear that the sites are fan activities and not hold themselves out as being ‘official’ or otherwise endorsed by or affiliated with the Cloud Imperium Games or RSI.
No content is allowed to be held behind paywalls / subscriptions / or other barrier to access
Fan Kit
The Fan Kit contains official assets and materials that you are welcome to use to show your support and fandom of our games, provided you agree to the Fan Kit Agreement and follow all applicable rules. You may use them in your streams, your fan sites, and even fan-made items, within certain limits as described in the Fan Kit Agreement and ToS.
The kit contains official assets such as:
- Concept art
- Logos
- Screenshots
- Wallpapers (desktop and mobile)
- 3D Models
- Artwork
- Social media banners & icons
- Fonts
- Music and certain audio tracks
You can find the Fan Kit at:
https://robertsspaceindustries.com/fankit
Fan Sites
RSI allows fan sites. Fan sites must include this notice (whether an org domain, fan site, blog, social media page, or other similar page):
“This is an unofficial Star Citizen fan site, not affiliated with the Cloud Imperium group of companies. All content on this site not authored by its host or users are property of their respective owners.”
This notice must be placed where it is open, obvious, and can be readily seen by any visitor to the page. It should not be “hidden” in any way (i.e. printed in a smaller font than other notices, or tucked away in an obscure place). If you do not include this or other notice that easily distinguishes your site from an official site or social media page, it will not be considered in keeping with our Fan site policy and we necessarily reserve all rights in law and equity to protect the game and our branding from misappropriation or brand confusion.
Your site must also include a link to the official site so that anyone who wishes to find it can easily do so.
You must also refrain from using any of the following official brands and marks in your site URL (domain): “Star Citizen”, “Roberts Space Industries”, “Cloud Imperium”, “Turbulent”, and “Squadron 42”.
Also, you must not use the name of any in-game entities in your site URL, (i.e. ship manufacturers) as it may create confusion among visitors trying to distinguish our official site from an unofficial one. Besides, our in-game entities have their own lore and identity; as a fan, you should be proud of your own story instead of trying to co-opt someone else’s!
Fan Fiction
Attribution
Any work of fan fiction that sources or draws upon any of Cloud Imperium’s work, must include the following disclaimer prominently, usually at the beginning of the work:
“This is a work of fan fiction. All characters, places, events, ships, and ship designs, and other content originating from Star Citizen, Squadron 42, or other content produced or created by its publishers or developers, are the property of Cloud Imperium Rights LLC and Cloud Imperium Rights Limited.”
Publishing Fan Fiction
If you intend to publish or sell your fan fiction, regardless of format, this is only permitted if you have submitted your fan fiction to RSI and RSI expressly approves. You will then need to sign a related Release Agreement, which memorializes a promise between you and RSI that you will not attempt to assert any claim against RSI or its affiliates based on the fan fiction. To request a Release Agreement, please submit a support ticket and clearly state the reason for the contact.
As long as the terms of the Release Agreement are observed, RSI will permit you to publish that fan fiction. This release does not permit other or derivative uses of that fan fiction, as anything other than a written work. For example, fan fiction may not be made into a screenplay, performed, made into a fan film, included or incorporated into any other product or adapted to any other use without separate express written permission from RSI, which may be granted or denied by RSI at its sole discretion. The release agreement does not give any permission to use audio or visual content from Star Citizen, Squadron 42, or IP otherwise controlled by Cloud Imperium on dust jackets, liners, cover art, etc.
If a Release Agreement is not submitted or granted, or if the Release Agreement is breached, the work of fan fiction is not authorized, and RSI reserves all rights under the law, including the commencement of legal proceedings, to enforce against the illegal or unauthorized use of its brands, intellectual property, or other content.
Translation and Fan Localization
Fan translations or captioning into other languages is generally allowed so long as they are not in violation of the Terms of Service and RSI has not set forth an official translation or localization into the same language. However, simply re-posting or re-uploading content or material from the RSI Services is not permitted.
We genuinely appreciate the efforts of our community when translating our media into other languages. Clearly label your translation as a fan translation, rather than an “official” one. If there are aspects of the translation, or the work accompanying or surrounding it, that are problematic, such as inaccuracies, misleading information, or misuse, we reserve the right to contact you or your service provider to request correction, retraction, or removal.
Fan Film/Machinima Policy
We have a separate page detailing this policy. Please see more at:
Bar Citizen (In-Person Fan Events)
Rules and Limitations
In general, we want the word mark "Bar Citizen" to be used to refer to real-world or virtual meetup events by or for members of the Star Citizen community, to show support for and celebrate RSI, Cloud Imperium, their games and services, and fandom. Such use by community members is to be non-commercial in nature. If you have questions as to whether a specific activity is commercial or non-commercial, please contact the Star Citizen Community team with a thorough and complete specification of you are interested in doing.
The “Bar Citizen” trademark is not to be used:
- For profit or to raise money
- To refer to or promote any other game, business, or commercial venture
- To express or imply RSI or Cloud Imperium's affiliation, involvement, or endorsement of any other game, business, or commercial venture
- As a part of any business or business plan
- In a way that is misleading or may imply association with unrelated modules, tools, adaptations, or projects
- In ways that confuse the community as to whether the event is officially managed, administered, or organized by RSI or Cloud Imperium
- In the naming or filing of any business, company name
- Inclusion within any intellectual property filing, as a derivative work, trademark, joint copyright, or otherwise.
It is understood that the organization of real-world events may involve some expenses such as venue rentals or reservations; event organizers are permitted, but not required, to charge reasonable door charges or attendance fees solely to defray such expenses, but not to turn a net profit or commercial purpose.
Notice of any such fees or charges must be displayed in conjunction with any messaging or communications promoting the event. It is a violation of this policy to “surprise” prospective attendees with an unannounced door charge. This exception relating to expenses is specific to the “Bar Citizen” trademark and does not extend to the use of any other RSI or Cloud Imperium service or content, which are subject to the standard applicable policies as per RSI’s Terms of Service, Fan Use (this article), and Fan Kit policies.
Data Collection
Please be aware that collecting or processing attendee information, including email addresses, social media information, or other personal data, must comply with data protection regulations where applicable. Fan organizers must ensure that personal data collected for events is:
- Only collected with the attendee's informed consent.
- Collection is limited only to the necessary use for the event.
- Stored securely and limited to the necessary time frame for the event.
- Not shared with third parties, except with explicit consent or when legally required.
Failure to comply with data processing laws may result in penalties and enforcement actions by relevant data protection authorities. For more information on your obligations as a data controller, consult the relevant authorities such as the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) in the UK or the local Data Protection Authority (DPA) in the EU.
Uses Prohibited Without RSI's Express License
Any commercial use, including but not limited to products, services, events, or company names, is prohibited without a signed and executed license from RSI, which RSI may provide or deny at its discretion.
The Bar Citizen word mark may be used in fan organization logos provided that such logo otherwise respects Cloud Imperium’s intellectual property rights and Terms of Service.
Please note that RSI has the final say on whether such events can contain Cloud Imperium group material, and if permitted, what type, and in what way.