I was just wondering, have any of you ever gotten a "Cease and Desist" order from a company because of copyright infringement/intellectual property problems? I had a LotR mod for some time (eight months) and it didn't get noticed by New Line at all - I'm interested in knowing how well other people did...

Also, would it be acceptable for a person to make a mod for a company's game based on another game of the same company? (i.e. a Doom mod for Q3A)

I think that cashing in on someone else's franchise is lower than a toads arse. They've spent the time and money to get their ideas up and running and they don't have to put up with someone coming along and leaching off their popularity.

That being said, some brand managers are a little too aggressive when drawing their line in the sand. If the similarities are truly coincidental then you might be able to argue (it's up to them to prove that you've copied) but including anything that's been trademarked (like LotR) would blow your case clean out of the water.

You can use historical phrase or terms that were used well before the company trademarked the name though. This was proven when IBM lost it's trademark battle against Microsoft for using the term 'Windows' and lost again by Microsoft when they tried to stop 'Lindows'. Generic terms are Generic terms so long as you can prove that they were in widespread use before someone lays a claim to them.

In some countries you are legally allowed to name a business after yourself no matter what copyrights or trademarks prevail. In this case, you could possibly change your name to 'Hard Rock' by deed poll and then go and open a cafe.   But you couldn't use their logo, menu or dubiosly stained Elvis suite hanging on the wall. Sorry... got side tracked.

Back to games: A mod is a complicated thing requiring more than one element (unlike a title) so in that I think that the more complicated you get, the more they can break it down and add up each individual case of you stealing their ideas. For the case of Tolkien stuff, you really should go back to Tolkien sources (Icelandic mythology and medieval literature) as this stuff is beyond copyright and contains similar sorts of characters. Using them like Tolkien created them for your mod is an obvious leach.

Sorry, but I'll have to side with New Line on this one. They have a brand that's worth big bucks to them and even if you're not getting money from your mod, you'll still be getting a fan base and many companies would argue that a fan base is an asset almost as tangible as money.

As for your second question, some game companies might let you but I doubt it as they have to guarantee a certain quality in order to keep the market reputation of a title. They wouldn't like you creating brand confusion or possibly screwing with their fan base as they might want to rehash that title again later.

If you wanted to make a Doom mod for Q3 then they are more than likely to sue your arse off as it would confuse the market (yes, some players are that stupid) as to the quality and content of the next instalment of Doom. Basically, your undercutting a still viable asset. They might let you if ask them nicely and they don't plan on reworking that productline later but they'd be pretty stupid to let just anyone screw with their franchises IMHO.

Besides, nobody ever achieved innovation by copying an already popular game. Use your own brain, it'll be much better for you in the long run.  

I've had experience from the opposite end.
When I worked with the Action team, I have had to send out emails saying, "Look, we appreciate how much you love Action but you can't use our name on your mod ..." etc etc. Most of the time they would go, sure, no sweat and change their name, sometimes they wouldn't, and I would have to talk to their hosting providers.

The worst cases was when people stole our models and used them in their mods as "theirs". Most of the time I just went straight to their hosts for those.

It's rough where people have to go after others because they couldn't come up with an original idea to work on.

Why someone would want to work months, or years on a mod that is bound to get foxed from the beginning is beyond me. I mod for fun, and experience, but I still wouldn't want a years worth of work to get dumped in the trash.

Now, I make way for Lifer, who has the best foxed mod story of them all ;)

Juicy!  

Come on Lifer! Tell us the tale!!!!!!!

You're better off just covering your butt now, rather than having to go through all sorts of crap to fix it later (*cough* original Quake2 version of Generations *cough*). Last year I released the first version of ARQ, a mod based around the old classic battle-chess like game "Archon". While I could not get in contact with the original creators, I was able to get in contact with people making an updated version of the game. They suggested changing the name and such, 'just in case', so I did.

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What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other word would smell as sweet.

Make a mod people like to play and they will play it, no matter what the name is (or even despite it?).

Hmm... interesting. Thanks for the input - I've thought about the mod which I'm working on and I've decided to try and help make it as original as possible while keeping it within its boundaries.

The first TC released for Quake1.  It was a highly anticipated project, but was removed off of the cdrom.com ftp 9 days after release.  It was a shame too, the mod was incredible (for the time), and allot of hard work was put into it.

Team Reaction used to be called the AlienQuake Team.  However, when the project was canceled, WhiteNoise and Irritant renamed it to Team Reaction.

I remember WhiteNoise talking about it when we were working together on Gloom.  AlienQuake was the product of 3 talented people -- John "Irritant" Diamond (Who is still making mods, under the name COR Entertainment, Dave "WhiteNoise" Wallin, and Gustav Tax'n.  Gustav left modding entirely after AlienQuake was pulled off of cdrom.com.  Dave and John later stayed in the mod community and formed Team Reaction.

There have been numerous interviews with Irritant and WhiteNoise regarding the AlienQuake project, and the clear message that both have sent in every one of those interviews is:  Don't use copyrighted material!

It is incredible how many times this lesson has been learned by mod teams the hard way. But even more incredible is how many more mod teams think, "Eh, it can't happen to me!”

Well, Dave didn't think anything bad would come out of AlienQuake.  But then he got an email from a law firm representing FOX networks.  It was not just a very rude cease and desist letter. They asked for personal info, including where he lived, and they wanted ALL relevant material handed over to them..  And if he co-operated, THEN they would consider weather they would sue him or not.

Now, what is even more incredible is how these two people didn't give up and forged ahead.  WhiteNoise alone created several critically acclaimed mods for Quake2, including Jailbreak, Qpong, and Gloom.  The last mod is of considerable significance.  WhiteNoise set out creating a mod that accomplished the same goals he and Irritant had with AlienQuake, yet was totally original.  He not only got his AlienQuake (in the non-trademarked way), but he also proved that you can come up with new and original ideas.

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"If you pour your heart and soul in a mod, how would you feel if all that work was for nothing?  If you are going to make a mod, do something origional. In the end, you will feel alot better about your work, and yourself."  -WhiteNoise

Aaron "Lifer!" Gilmore
Team Lead, Mapper
Team Reaction

A long time ago when I worked for GameSpy I wrote an article on this very subject.

The summary is this: even if New Line didn't notice your mod, you are not allowed to make it unless they specifically granted you permission, and you can have your work shut down at any moment. The onus is not on them to notice you and tell you if it's okay to continue; the onus is on YOU to obtain the proper permissions before you start working on it.

The same goes for making a mod in one game based on another, which is generally unacceptable across the board due to obvious copyright violations.

Hope that helps.

- HC

Mod makers have to be very careful these days not to use a name or use any other media that is under copy write.  I know in Tour of Duty fans are always asking to have music from the 1960’s in the game.  But because most if not all of the music still is under copy write.  We cant use it.

Also for the teams members protection every new member agrees to a statement giving the team full rights to anything you create for us. So if the mod ever were to be sold we could not be sued under copy write laws.   It also protects us against people making some thing quitting and later on saying you cant use that in the mod.  Also if a team meber steals from a mod and uses it in our mod  or steals media that is copywrited we are not responsible.

Just be original.  Come up with a new idea.  Why keep recycling the same old stuff?  I understand it's cool to be able to play certain characters from some of our favorite shows and movies (DBZ, Star Wars, etc.) I enjoy that as well as seeing really old-school games get a high-tech makeover, but if you're just trying to get popularity by cashing in on someone else's copyrighted idea, that's kinda low.