Modding and copyright infringement

TAK02

This is an interesting video regarding copyright infringement:

My question is: where do modding and developer/streamer playthroughs of the mod go?

Modders don't create new content; they use existing assets (either WW- or fan-made) in formats (headers and what-not) that WW "created" and chuck it into WW's engines. (swap WW for EALA for Generals and later, including The-Games-That-Must-Not-Be-Named-And-Definitely-Don't-Exist)

Then what to do for the "lighter" mods, that simply take WW's/other's stuff and only slightly modify it?
Say for instance, I take the map from RA2 Soviet 02 Florida, and simply modify/add a couple of triggers, teams, taskforces, scripts, waypoints, very slight modification of terrain, etc?
Another mod, Flipped Missions, essentially does the same thing: takes WW's original maps, modifies them in multiple ways to suit the developers' vision.

Also take for example Mental Omega's missions in Washington, London, New York, etc.: yes, one of the MO team extended it and modified it heavily, but it's still based on WW's original maps (some of which have multiple versions with slight variations).

And now we, say, have a scenario where a YouTuber, like Martinoz or Alstar, plays through the stages of the mod for others to see, and we also have the one of the developers themselves making a playthrough and uploading it.
This is the exact kind of scenario Mental Omega is in: playthroughs on YT by various people (including the leader Speeder himself), and even multiple fan missions, made specifically for that mod, played by another YouTuber.

And don't get me started on the soundtracks for mods, much less the tracks used by players for their videos on YT, whose origin may or may not be from a C&C game/mod or made by Frank Klepacki.

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4StarGeneral · General **Joined**: 14 Sep 2006 **Location**: Limbo

EA could send a C&D for any mod they wanted for games that aren't released as freeware like TD, RA, and TS, but they won't because modders are probably 90% of the people still buying copies of these games and are most of the reason EA is still earning money on them. Also as long as we aren't making money off of the mod, there's no point in spending money on lawyers going after digital content hosted in multiple places where they can only have it taken down at the website's discretion without more vigorous lawyering.

Furthermore, obviously EA has shown its stance on this issue and is in support of people modding their games. Whether Activision-Blizzard's recent Warcraft 3 fiasco has changed this view, well you might have to email them on this stance now, but they might not even bother answering that isn't an automated response.

Music tracks that aren't public domain or used in a C&C game or allowed by their creators or specifically made for the mod, are definitely illegal use, but the mod community is so small that it doesn't really matter unless the mod becomes even bigger than ones like MO, TI, DTA, etc. Someone pulling a C&D on it and have it taken down from Moddb & Youtube is probably the biggest threat a mod will have since most mods are barely even known to exist outside our small community.

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"Don't beg for things; Do it yourself or you'll never get anything."

TAK02 · Posted: Wed Apr 22, 2020 12:39 pm Post subject:

4StarGeneral wrote:

Music tracks that aren't public domain or used in a C&C game or allowed by their creators or specifically made for the mod, are definitely illegal use

So if I were to make my own tracks for my own mod it'd be illegal for me to use them in any way, be it just distribution or blasting through the stereo? Nice.

What about developer/fan playthroughs featuring non-C&C tracks, but those tracks don't come with the mod and would have to be added separately by the player if he/she wants them? Like, you want E:BfD's Harkonnen tracks blasting out of the speakers during the playthrough (and make appropriate mods to make it possible for others to do it), but don't include the tracks themselves; merely "support" their addition.

4StarGeneral · General **Joined**: 14 Sep 2006 **Location**: Limbo

TAK02 wrote:

4StarGeneral wrote:

Music tracks that aren't public domain or used in a C&C game or allowed by their creators or specifically made for the mod, are definitely illegal use

So if I were to make my own tracks for my own mod it'd be illegal for me to use them in any way, be it just distribution or blasting through the stereo? Nice.

The ztype do you think "allowed by their creators" means also why are you taking it out of context when this is your question?

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"Don't beg for things; Do it yourself or you'll never get anything."

TAK02 · Posted: Wed Apr 22, 2020 2:47 pm Post subject:

NVM, misread something.

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One and only developer of the Command & Conquer Dune "C&C D" mod.