I’ve conducted scientific research using the Panda3D engine, and would like to cite its use in the upcoming publications. It’s common for a commercial product to name the product and cite the company. For example, “this experiment was conducted using the Vizard virtual reality toolkit (version 3.0; Worldviz, LLC).” What is an appropriate way to cite Panda3D, given the involvement of Disney, Carnegie Mellon’s ETC, and the contributing community?
Tricky. The new Panda3D license says, in part:
It’s not clear, of course, whether a simple citation might be construed as “endorsement” or “promotion”, but to be on the safe side, I’d suggest leaving out any mention of Disney or CMU without first obtaining their OK. (Josh Yelon would be the go-to guy for obtaining the OK from CMU, but he’s been extremely busy lately and hasn’t been stopping by the forums. You might try the Contact link at the top of the page. I’m the closest thing we have to a Disney representative, but I can assure you we won’t hear back from the Disney lawyers about this for years.)
Failing any specific prior written permission, I suppose the best way to cite Panda3D is by referencing its website, maybe something like “the open-source Panda3D game engine (panda3d.net)”.
David
Thanks drwr.
I don’t think a citation would count as an endorsement or promotion. It would be more similar to the clause…
I do like the idea of referencing panda3d.net, though. I may stick with that.