Fan Film and Machinima Policy

We have always recognized and appreciated the role that engaged fandom plays in the story of Star Citizen, and enjoy in particular the passion and enthusiasm our community content creators have for the lore of our universe.  Many such fans have shown their affection and respect for Star Citizen’s branding integrity and inquired as to what activities can or cannot be legally pursued; to that end, we provide the following rules and guidelines for “fan films”, including machinima, live action video, and audiodrama featuring fiction set in the Star Citizen universe, which we permit and encourage so long as they are observed and respected.

Policy Specifics

Please read and review the following carefully to understand our guidelines and policies for creating fan-made video and audio content:

1. Disclaimer: Any work of fiction using the Star Citizen universe as its setting, whether in whole or in part, must display and/or recite the following disclaimer prominently within its on-screen credits, introduction, and on any marketing or promotional material, including the hosting page, production website, and description accompanying the content itself, whether on social media, streaming page, video channel, or otherwise:
   1. “This is a non-commercial fan production. Star Citizen, Squadron 42, and all related marks, logos and characters are solely owned by Cloud Imperium Rights, LLC and/or Cloud Imperium Rights Ltd. This fan production is not endorsed by, sponsored by, or affiliated with Cloud Imperium Group. No commercial exploitation, exhibition, or distribution is permitted. No alleged independent rights may be asserted against Cloud Imperium or its affiliates.”
       
2. Disallowed terms and claims: Fan productions may not be promoted or described in any writing as “official”, “genuine”, “licensed”, or “endorsed”, nor may other language implying any sponsorship, endorsement, or affiliation between Cloud Imperium Group and the fan production.
    
3. Funding: Cloud Imperium does not object to limited fundraising for the costs and/or expenses of a fan production, so long as the total amount, net of any and all platform fees, does not exceed $50,000. All fundraising must cease thereafter. All fan productions involving the same creator, participants, or are otherwise clearly related to one another in name, story, characters, or other shared or common content are considered a single fan production for the purposes of funding.
    
4. Source Material Limitations: No authorization is given to use content or material from Squadron 42, including the likenesses or voices of any and all participating actors.  No authorization is given to use any Star Citizen marketing material, including trailers, videos, or concept art.  These must not be used in any fan production.
    
5. No revenue:
   1. Fan productions may not be paywalled; no subscription, admission, or other fee to view or enjoy the work may be charged.
   2. Fan productions may not be used to obtain revenue through distribution or exhibition, with the exception of advertising revenue on video sharing or streaming platforms.
   3. Fan productions may not be used to obtain revenue or funding through the sales of goods or services, including merchandise (licensed or otherwise), product placement, or embedded advertising.
       
6. Third Party Content: Cloud Imperium cannot provide or obtain permissions for any fan production to use third party content; the fan production is responsible for obtaining any and all legal permissions or licenses to third party content used or included.
    
7. No commercial use: These rules and guidelines do not create or grant any implicit or explicit right to use Star Citizen or Squadron 42 content for any commercial purpose.
    
8. Terms of Service: The fan production must not contain any material or content that would violate Roberts Space Industries’ Terms of Service or End User License Agreement.
    
9. No exclusive rights: Creators of fan productions must not seek to register their works, nor any elements of the works, under copyright or trademark law.

Any production that fails to observe or abide by any of the above requirements is unauthorized, and Cloud Imperium reserves all rights in law or equity to enforce its intellectual property rights against such uses, or revoke any license or permission given in the face of later-disclosed or later-discovered deficiencies.

Cloud Imperium and Roberts Space Industries reserve the right to revise, revoke and/or withdraw these guidelines at any time in their own discretion. These guidelines do not constitute a license for, approval of, or a waiver of any rights that Cloud Imperium or Roberts Space Industries may have with respect to any content created outside of these guidelines.