Anyone signing up as a Beta-Tester?

[Dheuster]

So I was reading that Bethesda announced their DLC today and has begun accepting requests for Beta-Testers. I thought it would be cool to sign up to get a jump start on creating some Mod content that is compatible with or expands upon the upcoming DLC (or at least accounts for the DLC assets). But you have to create an account on Bethesda.net to sign up. I was reading over the legal agreement and well... it seems like you basically sell your soul to them in order to get that account.

Any lawyers reading this that can make sense of it? I'd love to sign up , but seems like their legal jargon basically gives them royalty free permission to steal your User Generated Content (UGC) if you create an account there.... I guess the question is, does UGC extend to mods?

"...by submitting UGC or creating UGC on any portion of the Services, You acknowledge and agree that all such UGC is the sole property of ZeniMax and You hereby assign and agree to assign to ZeniMax all such UGC submitted by You. To the extent that ZeniMax cannot claim exclusive ownership rights in such UGC by operation of law or pursuant to the assignment noted above, and to the fullest extent permitted by law, You hereby expressly grant (or You warrant that the owner of such UGC has expressly granted) to ZeniMax and its licensors, licensees and designees a perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide, paid-up, non-exclusive, royalty-free, transferable, sublicensable right and license to exercise all rights of any kind or nature associated with such UGC in all formats and media, whether existing now or in the future, and You agree not to assert or enforce any moral or similar rights You may have which may now or may hereafter be recognized, and all ancillary and subsidiary rights, in any languages and media now known or not currently known. You further grant each user of the Services a non-exclusive license to access UGC and to use, reproduce, distribute, display and perform such UGC as permitted through the Services, including, but not limited to, Game functionality."

[Di0nysys]

"including, but not limited to, Game functionality."
By "Game Functionality" they most likely mean mods, but UGC can be anything from screenshots to videos of the game, guides, wikis, and more.

What I'm worried about is Zenimax also claiming ownership over external 3D/audio assets that you package within your mod.

I don't believe it's legal for them to claim such ownership apart from the plugin that you are producing with their tools (CK, etc).

From what i understand, seems you waive any and all rights to the work you're submitting.

[Junnari]

The game EULA basically seems to already give the same rights to them, although I'm not sure if it can be applied for content that hasn't been made using the official modding tools.

 

http://store.steampowered.com/eula/377160_eula_0

 

 

THE SOFTWARE UTILITIES, IF ANY.

 

If the Software makes available, as a separate downloadable installer, a level editor or other similar type tools, assets and other materials (the “Software Utilities”) that permit you to construct or customize new game levels and other related game materials for personal use in connection with the Software (“Customized Game Materials”), then in the event you access such Software Utilities, the use of the Software Utilities is subject to the following additional terms, conditions and restrictions:

 

(a) All Customized Game Materials created by you are exclusively owned by LICENSOR and/or its licensors (as the case may be) and you hereby transfer, assign and convey to LICENSOR all right, title and interest in and to the Customized Game Materials and LICENSOR and its permitted licensors may use any Customized Game Materials made publicly available to you for any purpose whatsoever, including but not limited to for purposes of advertising and promoting the Software;

[jeffglobal]

Oh, I'm pretty sure the act of buying there game came with all rights to anything we would do. Any corporate lawyer would think that way. Remember, our CARS software can't be modified ...in the car manufacturer's opinion...because they hold the copyright to the software of the vehicle. Same with your TV that watches/listens to you. Just hacking the device so you can watch something naked would be a violation of their user agreement. I'd like to see a test case on these overbearing positions. Biotech firms are patenting parts of the human genome that we share, so technically, to have a kid, we could require a licensing fee. That's already happened...patenting parts of our human genome.

Edited February 26, 2016 by jeffglobal