Legal question for Spine Third-party Distribution

JonathanAndersen

I think I got it correct, but to make sure, I will ask you guys.

I have a 3-month internship for a company, that makes educational games, in which we use Unity.
I have animated the characters in the game with Spine 4.1, that is my own Spine Professional license. It’s the intention of the owner of the company to pitch the prototype I have helped produce during my internship and sell the game to others.

As far as I can read in the Spine Editor License Agreement, at 2.3 Third-Party Product Distribution, the company can sell the game as long as they don’t edit the spine related stuff without a license, and have in the documentation included the Spine Runtime License Agreement in Exhibit A.

Is there something I’m missing?

Spinebot

Your understanding is mostly correct. Here are the key points to ensure compliance:

Ownership and Distribution: You own the Spine assets you create (skeleton data, images, videos, texture atlases, and project files) and can sell or give them away freely.
Spine Runtimes: The company can distribute the game containing the Spine Runtimes without needing a Spine license, as long as they do not modify the game. They must include the Spine Runtime License Agreement in the documentation.
Modification: If the company or any third party needs to modify the game, they will need their own Spine license.
Documentation: Ensure that the Spine Runtime License Agreement is included in the documentation provided with the game.

For reference, you can check the Spine Editor License Agreement, specifically section 2.3, for more details: Spine Editor License Agreement: s2.3.

Nate

Spinebot is correct. Your understanding is mostly correct, but please note that a Product containing the Spine Runtimes cannot be modified in any way without a Spine license. The modifications are not limited to "Spine related" portions. Spine is typically integrated very deeply and distinguishing modifications as "Spine related" would be challenging, if not impossible.

JonathanAndersen

Nate None of it can be modified? Even the stuff not related to Spine?

I think you made it very clear first, but that was further than I thought!

Nate

JonathanAndersen None of it can be modified? Even the stuff not related to Spine?

That's correct. Trying to codify in legalese the line between non-Spine and Spine "stuff" would be difficult and would inevitably have gray areas. It's better to keep it simple and clear, especially since needing to obtain a Spine license is a very low bar for most projects. A Spine Essential license is sufficient, or if Spine Enterprise is required then the license can have zero users if running the Spine editor is not needed. Having a license covers creating or modifying any number of Products.

JonathanAndersen

Nate Alright, got you.

Thank you Nate for taking the time to help me, have a good day.