Creator Updates Improvements to how we handle copyright and unowned content

[Mick]

Hey creators,
We're making some big changes to how we handle copyright and unowned content. This is the area we've struggled with the most, and where we know we've let creators down. We've grown fast, and our policies here haven't kept up the way they should have. We do a great job across the rest of the platform, and these changes are about bringing that same standard here. The short version: we're becoming a lot more transparent, and with that comes being firmer about where the lines are. Some of you will need to make changes, so please read properly.

More transparency​

For a long time, we combined copyright removals behind a generic "TOS Violation" change reason, following previous legal advice. It caused a lot of confusion, especially for Roblox creators, who often had no idea what went wrong. Now, after lots of back and forth with our lawyers about how we can be more open with our creators:

• When we remove something, we'll tell you exactly why and what you can do to resolve it
• We'll involve the relevant parties during our investigations and appeals, and ask questions when we have them
• You'll get a real chance to fix the issue and get your resource back up. This covers old removals too. If something of yours got sent back to draft for a TOS violation, you're welcome to ask why and we'll tell you.

More strictness​

The flip side: we're tightening up on cases of potential copyright and trademark infringements and becoming more proactive about moderating potentially unowned content. You can be inspired by existing IP, you just can't use protected names, trademarks, logos or designs as branding or a selling point. Note your inspiration descriptively (tags, description) all you like, just don't make someone else's IP the thing you're selling.

• No "1:1", "remake", "replica" or "recreation" language, these terms are now fully disallowed. While it's fine to take inspiration, we want to avoid buyers being confused into thinking they're purchasing official content rather than a recreation of it. We'll also be re-evaluating any content claiming to replicate existing features for potential copyright infringement.
• No trademarked characters or branding in the title, tagline, cover or product itself (Star Wars, DonutSMP, Pokemon, etc). Being inspired is fine, but a copy, or something passed off as the real thing, isn't.
• No trademarked characters or branding or variations used to refer to that IP in the title, tagline, or cover (Donut<plugin>, SpaceWars, etc)
• If we find decompilation comments in your games indicating that some of the assets were stolen (even if you got them from the Roblox Toolbox) you will be warned and suspended. We expect some creators may have plugins/tools to detect those comments. If we find that you are using those tools to remove the comments rather than the stolen content itself, you will be subject for much harsher restrictions and potentially a ban.

Giving you time to adjust​

Existing resources have until the 27th of July, 2026 to be brought into line before we start enforcement against existing resources. Anything submitted from now on already needs to follow these rules.
A few other things worth knowing: Our DMCA system is unchanged, so a DMCA claim still needs a counter-claim to restore content, we can't do that through a ticket. And we're not reversing past decisions automatically, but you can appeal old warnings and we'll take a fresh look. If anything's unclear or if you're not sure whether something you sell is affected, please create a ticket, and we'll help you work it out.

This is a big step in the right direction for us, and we're glad to finally roll it out. Looking forward to showing you how it works in practice over the coming months!

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P.S. Please join our Discord server and sync your BuiltByBit account if you haven't already, that way you can join in the discussion about these changes with our team and other creators

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