Modding and copyright- The adventures of a no-name radio modder-An open letter to the nexus moderators

[Kneetothearrow]

As orginally sent to Micalov

"I've been trying to publish SOTCR [sons of the commonwealth Radio] for the longest time, and every step of the way I get removed or banned for copyright notice. In the latest instance Radio Liberty was up for 3 days before I posted Radio FNGS, which at that point both files were removed even though I stated in the description of Radio Liberty that I had asked for and received all the necessary rights. I wonder why my content gets removed, when every other radio modder is still up and receiving endorsements and downloads. As the terms of service state:

• Absolutely no copyrighted work is to be used without permission of the original creator. This includes content from other games, from DLCs, music creators or from other file authors. This also includes members from countries that do not recognise copyright laws.
  
• All files uploaded must have been created by the uploader or used with permission from the original author of the content. Such permission must be indicated in the Readme text attached to the file and/or on the Description page (or in the Description field for images), and must be obtained in advance, before uploading the file. If you cannot provide proof of consent then your file will be removed and your account is likely to be banned.
  
• Always provide appropriate credit to authors who have given you permission to use their content in your files both within the file description and within your file readme, even if said content was published as free to use.
  

Mods that currently violate the TOS other than I:

http://www.nexusmods...out4/mods/637/? More where that came from is a massive infringer, not only do they use several of the songs on Radio FNGS that are definitely copyrighted[specifically Mr.Sandman and a couple others], they lied about all of that music being on archive.org. If any of you actually took a second to validate his claims im sure you would find that he is lying through his teeth.

http://www.nexusmods...ut4/mods/7097/? Doesn't even have a legal disclaimer

http://www.nexusmods...t4/mods/11166/? Nor does this one

Im just wondering what nexus has its panties all in a twist about, its the mod author that is going to end up receiving the cease and desist notice, we are the infringers. Im not saying that Radio FNGS was copyright-clean, far from it in fact, so I see why it was removed. Though, I think nexus should read up on Fair use, here, i'll illuminate you:

• Purpose and character of the use, including whether the use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes: Courts look at how the party claiming fair use is using the copyrighted work, and are more likely to find that nonprofit educational and noncommercial uses are fair. This does not mean, however, that all nonprofit education and noncommercial uses are fair and all commercial uses are not fair; instead, courts will balance the purpose and character of the use against the other factors below. Additionally, “transformative” uses are more likely to be considered fair. Transformative uses are those that add something new, with a further purpose or different character, and do not substitute for the original use of the work.
  
• Nature of the copyrighted work: This factor analyzes the degree to which the work that was used relates to copyright’s purpose of encouraging creative expression. Thus, using a more creative or imaginative work (such as a novel, movie, or song) is less likely to support a claim of a fair use than using a factual work (such as a technical article or news item). In addition, use of an unpublished work is less likely to be considered fair.
  
• Amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole: Under this factor, courts look at both the quantity and quality of the copyrighted material that was used. If the use includes a large portion of the copyrighted work, fair use is less likely to be found; if the use employs only a small amount of copyrighted material, fair use is more likely. That said, some courts have found use of an entire work to be fair under certain circumstances. And in other contexts, using even a small amount of a copyrighted work was determined not to be fair because the selection was an important part—or the “heart”—of the work.
  
• Effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work: Here, courts review whether, and to what extent, the unlicensed use harms the existing or future market for the copyright owner’s original work. In assessing this factor, courts consider whether the use is hurting the current market for the original work (for example, by displacing sales of the original) and/or whether the use could cause substantial harm if it were to become widespread.
  

So, when Nexus preemptively bans my mod, I can't even argue fair use. Under these terms literally all my work could be considered fair use.

1 Purpose and character: My work is not only nonprofit, but also Transformative due to the voice acting connected to the songs, easily defended and held up.

2 Nature of the copyrighted work: The only thing im infringing upon is music, which is considered a creative work, this doesn't hold up as well but that is for the court to decide and not Nexus.

3 Amount and substantiality: I also lose on this front, I use the entirety of every song in my mod.

4 Effect upon the market: Literally nothing due to modding and music being in completely different markets and the fact that my mod is nonprofit [No more paid mods, no donation button upon my page] this is the most important by far and the crux of my argument. A nonprofit work in a completely separate field from what im infringing upon *cannot* effect the market of music, its impossible. If anything its basically free advertising for the music, somebody who listens to my mod may love one of the artists within and go out and buy one of their albums.

The biggest thing about all the Fair use laws is that it only comes into play if the copyright holder sends a cease and desist letter, which as far as I can see, has and will never happen. Do you really think Flogging Molly for the Dropkick Murphy's are gonna go scrolling down Nexus to see what mods infringe upon their work? Do you really think big companies even take a notice to this? Even if they did, even the largest company would realize that their cease and desist would not hold up in court. This does not mean I *want* to go to court, merely that I dont believe it is nexus' place to decide this.

The point of all this is that I believe Nexus should calm down a bit on the removal and banning of radio mods and modders, you are killing a major mod category by forcing us to go find music under creative commons [which is almost impossible to be lore-friendly with and actually have a good radio mod, copyright extends 60 years after the death of the artist, so we can only pull from before 1955, and not even all music before then has fallen into commons.] or just ignoring the big name mods who are clearly infringing whilst banning all the smaller works. Its absolutely retarded how the only things keeping some of these big names up is their false legal disclaimers that nobody has actually looked into [seriously, try to find most of the music on MWTCF or Elvanni's track pack in various creative commons sites, you can't, its not there.] If you are going to enforce your draconian , backwards-ass rules, you should enforce them upon every user, not just the users who aren't well known. I have a feeling that if nexus actually enforced their rules thoroughly , users would be up in arms about their favorite radio mods disappearing

I hope this isnt taken as just me being salty, I am LEGITIMATELY CONFUSED as to what im doing wrong comparatively to these larger names. Id really love to be able to post my work here on nexus instead of having to skulk around on the corners of the internet to publish my work. I have plenty of users who enjoy my mod and much greater plans for it in the future, but fighting the moderators off day by day is getting more exhausting and taking up more of my time than actually modding and its tiresome as hell. I think you guys probably tired of banning and removing me at this point too, so this will be my last message and plea, I honestly hope you respond and wish you to have a great day.

Happy moderating!

P.S: This is my one and only current account, and if this doesn't fly or nexus doesn't start loosening the noose it has around radio mods' neck, I wont try to publish my files here again. I promise.

Edited March 26, 2016 by Kneetothearrow

[AceSevenFive]

While I don't deal with radio mods, I'll see if I can address the points you've raised.

 

1. Simply stating that you asked for and received the rights to use the music is not enough; you have to present proof that you obtained the rights.

 

2. As I understand it, fair use is a use that, while infringing copyright, is used to comment upon, parody, or criticize a given work. Let's examine the facets of what constitutes fair use [as stated by the UK Copyright Office, as NexusMods is hosted in the UK and thus abides by UK copyright laws]:

 

a. The use is deemed acceptable under the terms of fair dealing. Wikipedia's article on Fair dealing in the UK states "Fair dealing in United Kingdom law is a doctrine which provides an exception to United Kingdom copyright law, in cases where the copyright infringement is for the purposes of non-commercial research or study, criticism or review, or for the reporting of current events." Unless your radio mod contains commentary on the meaning of each song, I doubt that this condition of fair use would hold up.

 

b. That the quoted material is justified, and no more than is necessary is included. You lose on this count, as you include the entirety of each song.

 

c. That the source of the quoted material is mentioned, along with the name of the author. I presume that your VA's mention the name of the song and the author, so I suppose that this facet of fair use is satisfied.

 

3. With regard to effect on the market, "free advertising" is not an excuse. I refer to this article, specifically Myths 3 and 4. While you may think that the copyright owner should be grateful for their advertising, each download of your mod would deprive them of the 19.99 they'd get if that person were to go buy an album. If your mod gets popular, this could add up to a lot of lost profit.

 

4. While I do agree with you that an obscure band from the 1950s isn't going to stroll through NexusMods looking for infringers on their work, I can guarantee you that whatever major record label owns the rights to the songs will, as if they fail to uphold their copyright, others may see it as a green light to infringe as well.

Edited March 26, 2016 by AceCarteria

[Lisnpuppy]

Written songs and sound recordings (and there is a difference) in the U.S. have some pretty specific and stringent laws covering copyright. I am going to link two things here about that are relevant. I am sure Dark0ne, Sir Salami or the moderators will come and punch holes in the rest of your debate of which the Terms of Service covers (you got to read more than you quoted there I am afraid), though I have to say this is a pretty good one in it isn't coming here and just flipping tables. However discussing moderation in the open forum really doesn't usually go very far.

 

Now as far as U.S. copyright for music, some light reading. The second link pretty much says what the government law is in smaller, easier to digest bites. This website is based in the UK but similar copyright laws exist.

 

From the U.S. government:

http://copyright.gov/docs/sound/

 

http://www.pdinfo.com/copyright-law/copyright-and-public-domain.php

[AceSevenFive]

Written songs and sound recordings (and there is a difference) in the U.S. have some pretty specific and stringent laws covering copyright. I am going to link two things here about that are relevant. I am sure Dark0ne, Sir Salami or the moderators will come and punch holes in the rest of your debate of which the Terms of Service covers (you got to read more than you quoted there I am afraid), though I have to say this is a pretty good one in it isn't coming here and just flipping tables. However discussing moderation in the open forum really doesn't usually go very far.

 

Now as far as U.S. copyright for music, some light reading. The second link pretty much says what the government law is in smaller, easier to digest bites. This website is based in the UK but similar copyright laws exist.

 

From the U.S. government:

http://copyright.gov/docs/sound/

 

http://www.pdinfo.com/copyright-law/copyright-and-public-domain.php

 

NexusMods is hosted in the UK, therefore US copyright laws do not apply.

[Kneetothearrow]

Ahh, okay. I didnt know that Nexus was hosted in the UK. Which is definitely a mistake to gloss over, my points about copyright law are rendered invalid then. Though in rebuttal to having to actually provide proof of the right gained, I was never asked to provide proof, nor have I seen any other radio mod provide proof as to their rights.

 

 

Written songs and sound recordings (and there is a difference) in the U.S. have some pretty specific and stringent laws covering copyright. I am going to link two things here about that are relevant. I am sure Dark0ne, Sir Salami or the moderators will come and punch holes in the rest of your debate of which the Terms of Service covers (you got to read more than you quoted there I am afraid), though I have to say this is a pretty good one in it isn't coming here and just flipping tables. However discussing moderation in the open forum really doesn't usually go very far.

 

 

 

Im only bringing it here because I haven't received a response to any message i've sent. I felt like bringing it to the open might force a response from the wall of silence that is Nexus moderation.

 

 

I merely want the rules to be enforced upon everyone equally, or a response from the moderators.

[AceSevenFive]

Ahh, okay. I didnt know that Nexus was hosted in the UK. Which is definitely a mistake to gloss over, my points about copyright law are rendered invalid then. Though in rebuttal to having to actually provide proof of the right gained, I was never asked to provide proof, nor have I seen any other radio mod provide proof as to their rights.

 

 

Written songs and sound recordings (and there is a difference) in the U.S. have some pretty specific and stringent laws covering copyright. I am going to link two things here about that are relevant. I am sure Dark0ne, Sir Salami or the moderators will come and punch holes in the rest of your debate of which the Terms of Service covers (you got to read more than you quoted there I am afraid), though I have to say this is a pretty good one in it isn't coming here and just flipping tables. However discussing moderation in the open forum really doesn't usually go very far.

 

 

 

Im only bringing it here because I haven't received a response to any message i've sent. I felt like bringing it to the open might force a response from the wall of silence that is Nexus moderation.

 

 

I merely want the rules to be enforced upon everyone equally, or a response from the moderators.

When you add a file, there's a checkbox that has the following text:

 

"I testify that all the content in the files I am going to upload are my own or are used with the express permission of the original creators of the files I have used and I have properly credited the original creators in my ReadMe, and in the mod description or in the "Credits" text area of the "Distribution permission" section of this page. I understand and accept that I will be banned from this site if I am found to be lieing [sic] about this."

 

This implies that you need to present proof. If you don't present proof of permission, mods aren't just going to take your word for it.

[Kneetothearrow]

 

Ahh, okay. I didnt know that Nexus was hosted in the UK. Which is definitely a mistake to gloss over, my points about copyright law are rendered invalid then. Though in rebuttal to having to actually provide proof of the right gained, I was never asked to provide proof, nor have I seen any other radio mod provide proof as to their rights.

 

 

Written songs and sound recordings (and there is a difference) in the U.S. have some pretty specific and stringent laws covering copyright. I am going to link two things here about that are relevant. I am sure Dark0ne, Sir Salami or the moderators will come and punch holes in the rest of your debate of which the Terms of Service covers (you got to read more than you quoted there I am afraid), though I have to say this is a pretty good one in it isn't coming here and just flipping tables. However discussing moderation in the open forum really doesn't usually go very far.

 

 

 

Im only bringing it here because I haven't received a response to any message i've sent. I felt like bringing it to the open might force a response from the wall of silence that is Nexus moderation.

 

 

I merely want the rules to be enforced upon everyone equally, or a response from the moderators.

When you add a file, there's a checkbox that has the following text:

 

"I testify that all the content in the files I am going to upload are my own or are used with the express permission of the original creators of the files I have used and I have properly credited the original creators in my ReadMe, and in the mod description or in the "Credits" text area of the "Distribution permission" section of this page. I understand and accept that I will be banned from this site if I am found to be lieing [sic] about this."

 

This implies that you need to present proof. If you don't present proof of permission, mods aren't just going to take your word for it.

 

Clearly, and clearly why I was removed. However, why are we just taking this at face value, because as I stated in my original post most big name radio mods or music packs are *lying* about the legal status of their music. Also, what constitutes proof? What magical combination of words and screenshots constitutes legal "proof" of the rights to the music. I wouldn't know, because no moderator has actually talked to me or responded to me in any meaningful way other than removing my mods.

[AceSevenFive]

 

 

Ahh, okay. I didnt know that Nexus was hosted in the UK. Which is definitely a mistake to gloss over, my points about copyright law are rendered invalid then. Though in rebuttal to having to actually provide proof of the right gained, I was never asked to provide proof, nor have I seen any other radio mod provide proof as to their rights.

 

 

Written songs and sound recordings (and there is a difference) in the U.S. have some pretty specific and stringent laws covering copyright. I am going to link two things here about that are relevant. I am sure Dark0ne, Sir Salami or the moderators will come and punch holes in the rest of your debate of which the Terms of Service covers (you got to read more than you quoted there I am afraid), though I have to say this is a pretty good one in it isn't coming here and just flipping tables. However discussing moderation in the open forum really doesn't usually go very far.

 

 

 

Im only bringing it here because I haven't received a response to any message i've sent. I felt like bringing it to the open might force a response from the wall of silence that is Nexus moderation.

 

 

I merely want the rules to be enforced upon everyone equally, or a response from the moderators.

When you add a file, there's a checkbox that has the following text:

 

"I testify that all the content in the files I am going to upload are my own or are used with the express permission of the original creators of the files I have used and I have properly credited the original creators in my ReadMe, and in the mod description or in the "Credits" text area of the "Distribution permission" section of this page. I understand and accept that I will be banned from this site if I am found to be lieing [sic] about this."

 

This implies that you need to present proof. If you don't present proof of permission, mods aren't just going to take your word for it.

 

Clearly, and clearly why I was removed. However, why are we just taking this at face value, because as I stated in my original post most big name radio mods or music packs are *lying* about the legal status of their music. Also, what constitutes proof? What magical combination of words and screenshots constitutes legal "proof" of the rights to the music. I wouldn't know, because no moderator has actually talked to me or responded to me in any meaningful way other than removing my mods.

 

 

I would think that screenshots showing you asking for permission and it being granted would be enough.

[M48A5]

As taken from the original post: "If you cannot provide proof of consent then your file will be removed and your account is likely to be banned." This pretty much covers that part of needing to provide proof of permission.

 

The OP was not banned so s/he should consider him/herself ahead of the game.

 

Also, the OP admits that copyright was infringed in #2 and #3 of the original post. This should be the end of all discussion.

Edited March 26, 2016 by M48A5

[TheVampireDante]

Also, the OP admits that copyright was infringed in #2 and #3 of the original post. This should be the end of all discussion.

 

It is, but not for that reason alone.

 

http://forums.nexusmods.com/index.php?/topic/3944455-kneetothearrow-banned/

 

Topic closed.