This case began with a trial in Germany, where the defendant is domiciled. Most recently, Blizzard filed a lawsuit in a U.S. court seeking more than $8 million in damages based on statutory damages and the German court`s ruling in its favor. He didn`t even have the courtesy to ask Bouma nicely. “We would ask you to remove the mods within the next seven days,” said Grinsell`s email, which was almost certainly under the direction of a disconnected company executive. “After this period, I will refer the matter to the legal department.” Real? Threatening fans of your games with legal action doesn`t look good. Especially about something as harmless as a camera mod. However, as mods become more extensive, involved, and lucrative, they increasingly run into legal issues that mostly revolve around end-user license agreement violations (which, by and large, everyone agrees to but no one reads) and copyright infringement. When Bouma was asked for comment, he told Kotaku via email that he was shocked by the developer`s response. Bouma, who has developed photo mode mods for games like A Plague Tale: Innocence, Devil May Cry 5, NieR Replicant ver.1.22474487139 and others, said that not only did he not make any money with these particular mods, but he also received positive feedback from other developers for the work he did in creating such impressive tools. Take-Two has agreed that single-player mods for Grand Theft Auto will not be subject to legal action following discussions with series creator Rockstar Games. “Following discussions with Take-Two, Take-Two has agreed that it will generally not take legal action against third-party projects involving Rockstar`s PC games that are single-player or non-commercial and respect the intellectual property (IP) rights of third parties,” the company said.
We want you to enjoy the game and we want to give players the opportunity to make the game even better. To do this, we`re ready to use modding tools like those available through the Valve Steam Workshop platform so you can create new levels, characters, and items for Defender`s Quest. We also want you to make these mods available to other players who have purchased the game. However, since we own the game and provide the tools you will use, we cannot allow you to take advantage of these mods. We also cannot allow you to post or distribute modifications that work on unauthorized or pirated versions of the Game. You may distribute it for free through Steam Workshop or platforms similar to those that lawfully acquired the Game, but you may not reproduce or distribute the modified version of the Game or any part of the original work. Mods may not be used to enable the distribution of unlicensed or pirated versions of the Game. A popular PC modder who created unofficial photo modes for various PC games has been fined with a cease and desist letter by developer Crysis Crytek. Now, after threatening legal action from the German studio, the modder has decided to remove the mods he created for Crytek games from his Patreon page. Studio sent out cease and desist letter on now-removed Crysis mods “It would be a shame to see money that could be used to improve homes wasted on costly and time-consuming lawsuits,” Liddell wrote.
Bouma expressed his frustration on Twitter, saying, “I`ve created custom mods in photo mode for more games than anyone else on this planet. For more games than Nvidia Ansel + all games combined with a photo mode. Unfortunately, according to some of Bouma`s January 13 tweets, including one with a screenshot of a letter from a Crytek PR executive, the studio “does not allow changes to these games under the terms of the EULA.” Bouma asked the studio for clarification on how the mods violated one of the games` end-user license agreements, and was told that the “main problem” was that the photo mode mods were monetized. Blizzard again argues that creating and using these mods not only violates its agreements and affects the user`s overall experience, but also their intellectual property rights under copyright law. A discussion about fair dealing under copyright law and what counts as fair dealing deserves its own report, so I`m not going to spend much time on that here. However, it is important to remember that “fair dealing” is absolute pain in the buttocks because it is intentionally vague. It has to be because it should be applied on a case-by-case basis. This means that fair dealing precedents can be unnecessary at best and contradictory at worst. Mods are the lifeblood of PC games, and it`s ridiculous that Crytek has such a problem with their existence. Modders keep games alive – and sell games too. Older games often appear on the Steam charts when high-level mods are released.
They should be promoted at all levels, especially by a studio that has made a name for itself with PC game development. But time and time again, Blizzard has made the same argument against modders. The latest case is directed against Bossland, the creator of “HonorBuddy” and similar mods that offer hacks, bots and tools to bypass the game`s intended gameplay (mainly by automating this gameplay). We may provide or require others to provide the Defender Quest Software Development Kit (“SDK”) source engine or other tools for player modification purposes. These tools are considered game content and are subject in themselves to the same license restrictions set forth in this Agreement, provided that players may use the SDK or other modding tools provided or licensed by us solely for the purpose of creating modifications and derivative works of the Game. Except as otherwise provided in this EULA, you may use the SDK and modding tools for non-commercial purposes and only to develop a modified version of Defender`s Quest compatible with the original source engine of the game acquired and licensed (“Mod”), or to create derivative works of the Game Content (e.g., new levels, in-game elements, and audiovisual inclusions); which are also compatible only with a legally acquired and licensed version of the original Game (“Derivative Works”).
