Modding legal information

[thirteenoranges]

I've been trying to find a proper rundown of legal information/licence agreements relating to the creation and distribution of mods, but it's proving difficult find. What I'm looking for is information specific to Skyrim, or general information that would relate to modding for Skyrim. What I'm not looking for is information about hosting on Nexus specifically (since that's easily available on the Nexus sites).

 

Does anyone know where to find this sort of things? I've had no luck with Google, Nexus or Steam so far.

[theru]

is this what ure serching for

 

http://www.creationkit.com/Introducing_the_Skyrim_Workshop#Disclaimer

 

scroll to bottom

 

 

or this

 

 

http://www.creationkit.com/Standards_and_Policies

Edited July 27, 2012 by theru

[thirteenoranges]

Unfortunately not, that's basically what the Steam overall stuff says, and it doesn't explain in exact terms the details of who owns the copyright of anything etc. All it says there is basically "if its not yours, don't publish it", and you could go as far as to say that means you can't publish mods using the base game assets, since they are obviously owned by Bethesda. Obviously this isn't the case, as it nullifies the point in the CK in the first place, but what I'm looking for is a properly detailed legal document explaining who owns what and what you can do with it etc.

 

(and the second link applies to the wiki editing, not the mods themselves)

Edited July 27, 2012 by thirteenoranges

[Rustle32]

Copyright is a tricky area for mods. Mostly it is based on the ability and willingness of an IP rights holder to defend their work.

 

Mods in many ways are like fan fiction. Most fan fiction has disclaimers that they don't own the world and characters of the work they created. This includes fan films, unlicensed books and short stories. Most IP owners are tolerant of derivative works, but can issue cease and desist letter or take further legal action if they wish to do so. Basically if you use their IP to make gobs of cashy money, without a licensing agreement, they want their due.

 

You are using a IP owner's, in this case Bethesuda, content, adding more content/story to Skyrim. If you are copying content from another source which is already copyrighted, like armor from Witcher or a Lightsaber then the owners of those properties retain copyright. If you create something new without using the CK and share it on Nexus or some other independent site, the the copyright usually belongs to you, as long as you do not profit greatly from the work.

 

I think the language you are talking about in the Steam Workshop has to do with taking someone else's mod and posting it as your own work.

 

Bethesda and Steam both have language that somewhat conflicts. If you create something using the Creation Kit, it belongs to you until you widely distribute it by posting the mod on Nexus, Steam's Workshop, or some other public download site. At that point, according to Bethesda's Terms for using the CK, they own it (unless there is a previous IP owner of the work) and can do with what they wish with your work. This means if you make a unique item, location, quest, whatever, they can take it and incorporate it into a DLC, another game or do something else with it with out providing you compensation or even recognition. Technically it means you can't sue them for taking your work, but if anything, the law is fuzzy when it comes to copyright in this situation. Though you would have a hard time finding a lawyer to take up your case.

 

Oh and I am not a lawyer but have done quite a bit of research on copyright law.

[thirteenoranges]

Thanks, that's helpful.