"that they seemingly want mod authors to be compensated for their work, provided they can take a cut" I believe the answer is right in there. Bigcorp has much more money than the little guy and will sue just to destroy them regardless of whether or not they even have a true or provable stance to take. I'm quite confident you're more than aware of this by your writing. It doesn't matter if it's just or unjust, fair or unfair, right or wrong, or good or evil. Business believes it's an ethic unto itself. It's only wrong if they get caught or lose. The only way I can see that would simply work is if indeed Bigcorp somehow gets their "cut" regardless of whether anyone believes they have a claim to this possible revenue. Unfortunately, this would require an action on Bigcorp's part rather than you. They don't like the way other mod donation services such as the mentioned Patreon and Flattr work since they get cut out of the picture. Then why doesn't Bigcorp create their own? Users here could simply donate (or maybe mandatory depending on what they decide) the same way the other services would allow and Bigcorp gets their cut, the modder gets their cut, and the hosting site can get theirs. Everyone is happy and gets along. Not to mention the hosting site can continue to gain its revenue from existing ad placements, etc. But this would require action on Bigcorp.