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I think I summed up Minecraft modpacks quite well


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something interesting came out of minecon on this matter in this video

at 12:40 jeb says that mod devs DO have copyright over their images, sounds and code (models etc). just thought i'd mention this as it basically invalidates everything technic have ever said...

Did you read the pastebin linked? It's not up to Mojang or the Modders whether they have copy right or not. It has to be decided by a court of law.

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its basic copyright law that you have copyright over anything that you make, including programs, images or music. you should research that a bit more

As I said, did you even read the pastebin? If the mod authors want to enforce their copyright, they have to prove a) that there is enough difference between their mod and the main game to warrant a copyright (which would be difficult, as the mods are modifications of Minecraft) and B) prove that they have lost revenue (which is also impossible, as the minecraft ToS says you cn't mak money off of mods).

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what about the images and sounds that are distributed in the mods? they have full copyright over them if they made them. theres no arguing about that

You are correct that they have copyright over the sounds and textures, but that can easily be bypassed by simply distributing the mods with your own textures and sounds.

Edit: This only applies if the textures and sounds were made by the mod authors from scratch. As Ragnar Homsar said, this is rarely the case.

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what about the images and sounds that are distributed in the mods? they have full copyright over them if they made them. theres no arguing about that

Sounds are more often than not ripped from some source with its own specific copyright statement, and most textures/images are derivatives of the original graphics in Minecraft (UIs, Industrialcraft blocks using the old iron texture as a base for machine blocks, etc.)

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Sounds are more often than not ripped from some source with its own specific copyright statement, and most textures/images are derivatives of the original graphics in Minecraft (UIs, Industrialcraft blocks using the old iron texture as a base for machine blocks, etc.)

There's also the very common practice of having texture artists do textures for you. Unless they waive all their rights to the textures, they could theoretically say the mod authors violate their copyright.

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very true, a lot of textures for mods are made from vanilla textures, or externally to the mod dev, but if someone made it for the mod, they cant sue the mod devs XD

Tell me how this works? If you don't explicitly sign away your rights to graphics you've created for a mod, then the mod author doesn't have any rights to it and you can, if you really felt like it, charge them with using your graphics without permission.

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You have to actually apply for a copyright. What they have is called intellectual property rights. because it is an IP of a derivative work, the only legal action they have (until they actually apply for a copyright) is DMCA takedowns. That's why technic is still here.

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You have to actually apply for a copyright. What they have is called intellectual property rights. because it is an IP of a derivative work, the only legal action they have (until they actually apply for a copyright) is DMCA takedowns. That's why technic is still here.

Even if they did apply for a copyright, they would never get one.

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You have to actually apply for a copyright. What they have is called intellectual property rights. because it is an IP of a derivative work, the only legal action they have (until they actually apply for a copyright) is DMCA takedowns. That's why technic is still here.

Actually, they don't even have DMCA takedowns.

When they have a link pulled by claiming copyright they are actually opening themselves up to attack for false claims, of course taking this to court would be rather silly.
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Actually, as long as the mod shows it's original and enhances the game, they could easily get a derivative work copyright. This would allow them to sue. They could be allowed monetary compensation if they could prove damages.

And yes, they would be opening themselves up to false claims with DMCA takedown requests. however, authors with the IP do have the right to make the request.

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Getting too legally ,for me so I am out but I will just post this here. I cannot vouch for its validity, but the author seems to know what he is talking about:

"The mod authors are in the wrong in this section as they cannot claim copy right to their derivative work unless they take it to court and prove that there is enough separation from the main product (in this case, Minecraft, which is a hard sales since mods modify the gameplay of that software) to warrant their own copyright."

In addition, the modpacks use would still fall under the category of fair-use.

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In the end, the legal stuff doesn't really matter, as no one is going to try bringing this to court. It really boils down to the attitude of the modders. If they hold the attitude "mine! You can't use it! Give me ad.fly pennies!" Then it will only hurt the community. Our goal should be to convince them that it would be better for everyone if they held the attitude of "I made this, but I made it for you guys to enjoy. Feel free to do whatever the hell you want with it. And if you want to donate, that would be awesome, but you don't have to."

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In the end, the legal stuff doesn't really matter, as no one is going to try bringing this to court. It really boils down to the attitude of the modders. If they hold the attitude "mine! You can't use it! Give me ad.fly pennies!" Then it will only hurt the community. Our goal should be to convince them that it would be better for everyone if they held the attitude of "I made this, but I made it for you guys to enjoy. Feel free to do whatever the hell you want with it. And if you want to donate, that would be awesome, but you don't have to."

Pretty much. In terms of modding community, one could say that Skyrim is Norway, and Minecraft is the US.

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