The following information is intended to provide simple answers to commonly asked questions about the Microsoft Agent characters, Genie, Merlin, Peedy and Robby, their usage and distribution. The questions are divided into the following topics:

• Use of the Genie, Merlin, Peedy and Robby characters
• Distributing the Genie, Merlin, Peedy and Robby characters

Frequently Asked Questions about custom Microsoft Agent characters and their creation are available elsewhere.

For assistance with problems that you may encounter using Microsoft Agent or developing applications with it, refer to the troubleshooting information.

Note, the use of Microsoft Agent and the Genie, Merlin, Peedy and Robby characters is subject to the terms set forth in the applicable End User License Agreement (“EULA”). The information provided here imposes no obligations upon Microsoft and confers no rights to the parties. It is provided for informational purposes only and neither limits nor expands the rights set forth in the applicable EULA. The information is provided "AS IS" with no warranties.

• Can I use Merlin (or Genie or Peedy or Robby) as the character in the applications that I develop?
• I use the Merlin (or Genie or Peedy or Robby) character in my Microsoft Agent application. Is it possible for me to rename the character to something else like "BlueMerlin" as long as I provide a notice that "BlueMerlin" is a copyrighted character belonging to Microsoft Corporation?
• Can I put pictures of Merlin (or Genie or Peedy or Robby) into the opening splash screen (or documentation or packaging) of my application?
• Can I put an unmodified picture of Merlin, Genie, Peedy and Robby into the user interface of my Web page or application so that the end-user can see what each of them looks like prior to selection for the purpose of installation or use within my application?
• Can I put a screenshot that includes Merlin (or Genie or Peedy or Robby) onto my Web site or in the documentation for my application?
• Microsoft is very restrictive about the use of images of the Merlin (Genie, Peedy and Robby) characters. If I create my own, entirely original character, can I freely use pictures and screenshots of it?

• If I do develop my application to use Merlin (or Genie or Peedy or Robby), will I also be allowed to distribute Merlin (or Genie or Peedy or Robby) with my (commercial) application?
• I want to distribute a character that looks distinctively my own but I don't want to go to the effort or cost of making or commissioning my own unique character. Can I just download the Agent Character Editor and use it to slightly edit my own version of Merlin (or Genie or Peedy or Robby) if I don't change very much?
• I've got a distribution license for Microsoft Agent. How should I distribute Merlin (or Genie or Peedy or Robby) with my application?
• How do I access the combination .acf/.aca files for Merlin (or Genie or Peedy or Robby) on the Internet from the programming of my Web page/application?
• I need to host the combination .acf/.aca files for Merlin (or Genie or Peedy or Robby) on my own internal server because the users of my corporate Intranet application don't have access to these files on the Microsoft Internet Web servers. How do I go about getting these files?

Use of the Genie, Merlin, Peedy and Robby characters

Can I use Merlin (or Genie or Peedy or Robby) as the Microsoft Agent character in the applications that I develop?

You may use Merlin (and Genie, Peedy and Robby) as the Microsoft Agent character(s) in applications that you develop, subject to the conditions in the End-user License Agreement (EULA) for Microsoft Agent. These characters must be used and displayed from the Microsoft Agent programming interfaces and a copyright notice for the character consisting of the character's name with the text "(c) 1996-1998 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved." must be included (along with the requisite “Uses Microsoft Agent technology” notice).

Also, see the following question regarding use of images of the Genie, Merlin, Peedy or Robby characters.

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I use the Merlin (or Genie or Peedy or Robby) character in my Microsoft Agent application. Is it possible for me to rename the character to something else like "BlueMerlin" as long as I provide a notice that "BlueMerlin" is a copyrighted character belonging to Microsoft Corporation?

No, the Genie, Merlin, Peedy and Robby Microsoft Agent characters are copyrighted creations of Microsoft. Use of these characters, called from the Microsoft Agent programming interfaces, is allowed by, and subject to, the terms of the End-user License Agreement for Microsoft Agent. These characters may not be altered in any way, including, but not limited to, their appearance and their names.

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Can I put pictures of Merlin (or Genie or Peedy or Robby) into the opening splash screen (or documentation or packaging) of my application?

No, the Genie, Merlin, Peedy and Robby Microsoft Agent characters are copyrighted creations of Microsoft. Use of these characters, called from the Microsoft Agent programming interfaces, is allowed by, and subject to, the terms of the End-user License Agreement for Microsoft Agent.

Use of images of the Genie, Merlin, Peedy or Robby characters in your application, its documentation, packaging, promotional materials, Web sites, etc., is not permitted, with the exception of the specific situations described in the next question. Use of images of the Genie, Merlin, Peedy or Robby characters as a general product logo, artwork or design element is strictly prohibited.

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Can I put an unmodified picture of Merlin, Genie, Peedy and Robby into the user interface of my Web page or application so that the end-user can see what each of them looks like prior to selection for the purpose of installation or use within my application?

Developers are ONLY allowed to display an unmodified image of Genie, Merlin, Peedy and Robby within their Microsoft Agent enabled application or scripted Web page to support user selection of a character. In such cases, the "Uses Microsoft Agent technology" notice and a copyright notice for the character as described in the End-user License Agreement for Microsoft Agent, must be included.

As modification of the Genie, Merlin, Peedy or Robby characters is not permitted under the terms of the End-user License Agreement for Microsoft Agent, the names of these characters as supplied by Microsoft may not be changed, nor can a character's name be appended to your product, company or other name.

Also, refer to the Permissions page and the next question regarding screenshots that show the Genie, Merlin, Peedy or Robby characters.

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Can I put a screen shot that includes Merlin (or Genie or Peedy or Robby) onto my Web site or in the documentation for my application?

The Merlin (or Genie or Peedy or Robby) character(s) may be shown within a screen shot ONLY for the purpose of illustrating the Microsoft Agent technology at work and if the image is unmodified and appears as part of the application’s screen. Additional Screen Shot Guidelines apply, as well as the restrictions and limitations of use included in the End-user License Agreement for Microsoft Agent.

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Microsoft is very restrictive about the use of images of the Merlin (Genie, Peedy and Robby) characters. If I create my own, entirely original character, can I freely use pictures and screenshots of it?

Characters created by other parties are subject to whatever conditions of the owner of those characters. While developers who create their own unique characters using the Microsoft Agent Character Editor are free to use, distribute, or license them as they see fit, the use of the Microsoft Agent software is still subject to the terms of the End-user License Agreement.

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Distributing the Genie, Merlin, Peedy and Robby characters

If I do develop my application to use Merlin (or Genie or Peedy or Robby), will I also be allowed to distribute Merlin (or Genie or Peedy or Robby) with my (commercial) application?

A distribution license for Microsoft Agent, is required for you to distribute Microsoft Agent and any of its components, such as the Merlin (and Genie, Peedy and Robby) character data files. The distribution license for Microsoft Agent is royalty-free, regardless of whether your application is commercial or non-profit.

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I want to distribute a character that looks distinctively my own but I don't want to go to the effort or cost of making or commissioning my own unique character. Can I just download the Agent Character Editor and use it to slightly edit my own version of Merlin (or Genie or Peedy or Robby) if I don't change very much?

The End-user License Agreement for Microsoft Agent specifically disallows altering the character files for Merlin (and Genie, Peedy and Robby), regardless of whether it is a little or a lot. Renaming these characters in your application, Web pages, documentation or other work, is also not permitted.

In any event, the Agent Character Editor is not actually capable of "editing" a Microsoft Agent character that is already built. It may be more helpful to think of this tool's functionality as an "Agent Character Compiler" - it can only build a character when all the constituent source files are also available.

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I've got a distribution license for Microsoft Agent. How should I distribute Merlin (or Genie or Peedy or Robby) with my application?

The character data files (in the .acs format) for Merlin (and Genie, Peedy and Robby) are made available from the Download page as self-installing executable files which automatically installs them to the \Msagent\Chars folder of the Microsoft Windows system folder (where the operating system is installed).

If you have a distribution license for Microsoft Agent, you may also distribute these same self-installing executable files for the Merlin (and Genie, Peedy and Robby) character data files, along with your Microsoft Agent application. You just need to have your application installer also run the corresponding self-installing executable file (e.g., Merlin.exe).

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How do I access the combination .acf/.aca files for Merlin (or Genie or Peedy or Robby) on the Internet from the programming of my Web page/application?

The Microsoft Agent Character data page provides the URL (Uniform Resource Locator) and information necessary to access the combination .acf/.aca format files for the Merlin (and Genie, Peedy and Robby) characters from the Microsoft servers on the Internet.

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I need to host the combination .acf/.aca files for Merlin (or Genie or Peedy or Robby) on my own internal server because the users of my corporate Intranet application don't have access to these files on the Microsoft Internet Web servers. How do I go about getting these files?

The combination .acf/.aca files for Merlin (and Genie, Peedy and Robby) are available for hosting on your own server only if you have a current distribution license for Microsoft Agent. Refer to the information there about how to request these files.

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General FAQs

FAQs about custom Microsoft Agent characters and their creation

FAQs about speech

FAQs about development

FAQs about Microsoft Agent licensing

FAQs about distributing Microsoft Agent

Introductory FAQ page

Back to the Microsoft Agent home page