The more you know...

[ReverendFelix]

Common statement;

"You will also require permission from the creator of the mod to use any part of it in any mod you plan on releasing publicly."

 

Funny thing...

I looked up the statute of limitations on intellectual property. You know what I found out? It doesn't apply to mods. It only applies to ideas that can be copyrighted, registered as trademark, or patented. Because bethesda owns the oblivion game engine, they actually own ALL material made for it. And they have given permission to use anything they own, so long as it is not for profit.

 

Don't get me wrong here. I have massive respect for my fellow modders. But here we are 13 years later, trying to get permission to use assets from mods that are long since abandoned. Only to be disappointed when we have to compromise and cut something out before release.

 

Just food for thought...

 

Rev.

[TheVampireDante]

Doesn't matter since our terms of service states that you require permission (unless otherwise stated by the author) and anything uploaded must abide by our regulations.

 

Also: That's a pretty poor way interpret their usage terms. Especially since they've adjusted their EULA from Skyrim onward to state that authors are the copyright owners of their works (with a clause allowing Bethesda use if they wish). So I doubt they'd back up anyone trying the sort of claim you are implying.

[ReverendFelix]

I understand and abide Nexus TOS. I am strictly speaking legality here. I feel there should be an 'archived' section for mods that have clearly been abandoned for 'X' amount of years. 'X' being however long Nexus decides is sufficient, possibly based on other similar precedents. In my opinion, there are too many great works out there going to waste due to a technicality. By all means, you would try to get permission first for a time. But what about when that fails? At that point, the mods should be considered free resource. Isn't there a point when abandoned mods become Nexus property? Edited June 2, 2019 by ReverendFelix

[SigurdStormhand]

There are actually a number of legal layers here, there's the question of "Intellectul Property" and of "Copyright".

 

Bethesda explicitly acknowledges the copyright of modders in their EULA and generally, but they also enforce their own right as a licencee. The modder does NOT lose their Copyright, but they do cede control of it to Bethesda.

 

Bethesda enforce complains of "mod piracy" in support of modders, so the rule you cite is really coming from Bethesda, no the Nexus.

 

The Berne Convention states that Copyright is the life of the author and not less than 50 years following their death. Therefore, it is highly unlikely that any mod will go out of copyright before modding on a given Elder Scrolls game comes to an end.

 

Perhaps, by the time ES XXV comes around Morrowind mods will be out of copyright.

[Arthmoor]

As Dante said, Bethesda explicitly says mod authors own the copyright to their mods. So your logic is faulty in a serious way. Even the old EULA never said anything close to "we own all your mods" and has never been a valid counterpoint to the arguments about mod copyright.

 

There is also no such thing legally as "Abandonware". Copyright on software survives regardless of what you may have heard on reddit.

 

Further, "Statute of Limitations" is a concept of criminal law, not IP law. But that aside, if you had actually looked it up, you'd have found that copyright in the US (which is what governs Bethesda modding as it's a US company) exists for the life of the author +95 years after their death. The Berne Convention that Sigurd mentions extends this protection to all nations which have signed the treaty as well.

 

Nexus policy is based on copyright law - they didn't just cook it up out of nowhere.

[ReverendFelix]

Thank you for the clarification.