We are planning to use Unreal Engine in our projects to drive some interactive exhibition (in museum or other public venues, to general payed audiences). Is it applicable to the royalty exclusion clause in FAQ: “Cabinet-based arcade games and amusement park rides.”? If it is still subjected to payment of royalty fees, what will be the calculation model of “revenue generated by licences content”, as the ticket price may also include admission to other exhibitions that are not using UE4 technology at all?
Moreover, if we are going to:
Sell products with QR code or AR trigger images to audiences for them to trigger certain scenarios in the interactive exhibition, or;
Sell products without any interactive features but using assets from the interactive exhibition.
Are we required to report to Epic and pay royalty if the revenue from the above mentioned activities exceeds 3000 USD per calendar quarter?
I believe museum installations/exhibitions, even if specifically ticketed, fall into the amusement/arcade royalty exemption. If it’s limited to a location-based (rather than end user home-based) experience, there is no royalty under the EULA. I’m not sure I understand your more specific questions.
Thank you atypic. In this case that any museum or similar amusement use case would be falling into royalty exemption, does this mean that any sideline revenue generated from it, such as selling of avatars etc, is also exempted from royalty fee?
Also, is the amusement / arcade royalty exemption defined as location-based game / interactive experience, rather than end user home-based ONLY? For example, if the interactive content / game is installed onto some MOBILE devices provided by the museum, and can ONLY be used inside the venue, will that still be falling under the royalty exemption scenario?
Sideline revenue - that’s a vague term. The question is whether the revenue is received only in connection with the location. In other words, if there is an at-home experience, that’s not royalty free. But it’s ok if the mobile app is downloaded at home (via iTunes, for example), so long as they can’t spend money on something they can enjoy at home.
Referring to your reply: But it’s ok if the mobile app is downloaded at home (via iTunes, for example), so long as they can’t spend money on something they can enjoy at home.
Does this mean if the mobile app that is downloaded at home totally free and we are not selling content that is subjected to royalty, inside that mobile app, then we are totally covered under the royalty exemption?
Yes, that’s the way I see it based on your description. If there is a ticketed installation, that’s royalty free. If you have an installation with a free companion mobile app, that’s royalty free. If the only thing you can buy via the companion mobile app is something for use only in the installation (and not at home), that’s royalty free. If you can also buy physical goods through the app, like ordering a hat, that’s royalty free.