Is it wrong to use public domain pictures in NSFW scenes?

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fierylion
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Is it wrong to use public domain pictures in NSFW scenes?

#1 Post by fierylion »

I have an ethical question. Do you think its wrong to use free-to-use (often public domain or attribution required only) pictures of people’s actual apartments (bedrooms, living rooms) as the background or scenes of NSFW visual novels or games?

I mean it might be alright to share pictures of your neat and tidy place to the public domain for others to use, but then you might not be comfortable with seeing the pictures being used in sexual scenes?

For example, this lovely apartment picture on Pexel.com is completely free to use with no attribution required (stated clearly in their license), but is it really alright to use it as the background of a NSFW scene in a VN? Asking for a friend

https://www.pexels.com/photo/grey-fabri ... r-1743226/

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Re: Is it wrong to use public domain pictures in NSFW scenes?

#2 Post by Imperf3kt »

By its very definition, public domain means the copyright holder has relinquished all rights to the image. You're free to do what you want with it, and the original image creator has explicitly said so by placing it in the public domain.

If they weren't cool with that then they should not have given up their rights.
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Re: Is it wrong to use public domain pictures in NSFW scenes?

#3 Post by felix »

Legally, see above. Morally? People can change their minds. People can realize there are things they haven't thought of. But that's exactly why the license terms on pexels.com mention potentially objectionable uses explicitly. Besides, your game is an artistic, transformative work, even if NSFW. I think it's fine.

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Re: Is it wrong to use public domain pictures in NSFW scenes?

#4 Post by uncoded »

It might be a hassle, but if you really worry about the original authors opinion, you can always have a talk with them, or even send them a (probably censored) preview of how you'll use their work in your game. In most cases it's possible to find their contact info.
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Re: Is it wrong to use public domain pictures in NSFW scenes?

#5 Post by papillon »

There are sites that let you put slightly more restrictions on free works (no porn, no racism, no animal abuse are common ones I've seen). If someone deliberately chooses to put up free content with no restrictions, that means no restrictions.

Did you look at the licensing FAQ for the site? Pexel's TOS includes:
Furthermore, despite the Pexels License provided to you by Pexels hereunder you agree to NOT use any Pexels Content made available via the Service (in whole or in part):
[...]
in a pornographic, defamatory, or deceptive context, or in a manner that could be considered libelous, obscene, or illegal;
So the website would really prefer you not take their pictures and put them in porn. This is slightly separate from the actual license, though, and it looks like all they'd do is block you from using their site in the future. They're not going to sue you over it.

If this concerns you, you could check with the original photographer.

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Re: Is it wrong to use public domain pictures in NSFW scenes?

#6 Post by fierylion »

Thank's for noticing that, looks like it might be against the ToS, if they choose to enforce it :(
Now I need to look up the legal definition to obscene/pornographic

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Re: Is it wrong to use public domain pictures in NSFW scenes?

#7 Post by felix »

fierylion wrote: Thu Apr 22, 2021 12:37 pm Now I need to look up the legal definition to obscene/pornographic
Unfortunately that differs from country to country, and in some countries it's really vague.

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Re: Is it wrong to use public domain pictures in NSFW scenes?

#8 Post by Imperf3kt »

felix wrote: Fri Apr 23, 2021 2:05 am
fierylion wrote: Thu Apr 22, 2021 12:37 pm Now I need to look up the legal definition to obscene/pornographic
Unfortunately that differs from country to country, and in some countries it's really vague.
In this case, it only matters for the county that the website is hosted in, and as was stated before, its only for continued use of the website, not the images themselves.
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