Activision-Blizzard Shuts Down Modders

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Thinking about using the Starcraft 2 map tool to make a MMO called World of Starcraft? Well then, the World of Lawyers would like to have a word with you.

Rock, Paper, Shotgun managed to make a really cool mod that turned the game into an MMO, complete with a character creation screen and fighting and experience-gaining for the Ghost class. Awesome, right? I'd love to show you a clip, but Activision-Blizzard slapped the guys with a copyright infringement notice via YouTube where they uploaded the video. Ouch. All you get is this screenshot.
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Umm Steve, you're a few days behind.

Blizzard did ask Youtube to pull the video temporarily because they had concerns about the name of the mod being so close to World of Warcraft, but they are actively talking with the developer of the mod and not only are they encouraging it's development, word is they have actually invited him to the Blizzard campus to meet with the Starcraft II development team... in fact he may actually have opened up means to possible employment with them.
 
hahahahahha

Legally Bobby Kotick can't do heck frick all, they handed players the tools, editors and map creators for Starcraft 2, then throw out LOLsuits when players make something?

This case would be thrown out in less then 5 minutes, heck if I was the guy who made this mod, and I had some disposable funds, I would have taken this to court and made Bobby pay my court costs, as his lawsuit basically boils down to sueing somebody for making mods, when you personally handed them the tools to do it

That's like Bobby handing me a gun, then getting surprised when I Rob him with it two seconds later
 
Valagard said:
hahahahahha

Legally Bobby Kotick can't do heck frick all, they handed players the tools, editors and map creators for Starcraft 2, then throw out LOLsuits when players make something?

This case would be thrown out in less then 5 minutes, heck if I was the guy who made this mod, and I had some disposable funds, I would have taken this to court and made Bobby pay my court costs, as his lawsuit basically boils down to sueing somebody for making mods, when you personally handed them the tools to do it

That's like Bobby handing me a gun, then getting surprised when I Rob him with it two seconds later
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This in incorrect. Supposedly, it's purely the name that Activision had a name with, not the mods content. Activision actually owns the trademark "World of Starcraft". Legally, they have all the right in the world to bar anything from using that name. Blizzard has said they are excited to see where the mod goes.
 
Valagard said:
hahahahahha

Legally Bobby Kotick can't do heck frick all, they handed players the tools, editors and map creators for Starcraft 2, then throw out LOLsuits when players make something?

This case would be thrown out in less then 5 minutes, heck if I was the guy who made this mod, and I had some disposable funds, I would have taken this to court and made Bobby pay my court costs, as his lawsuit basically boils down to sueing somebody for making mods, when you personally handed them the tools to do it

That's like Bobby handing me a gun, then getting surprised when I Rob him with it two seconds later
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I don't think it's so much the mod he made as it the name he used for it. A bit of a difference, lol.
 
Yeah Steve wayyy behind, but then again you can't be expected to cross check every thread before you post.

http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1578495

They haven't shut down; Actually quite the opposite:

I know there's a lot of questions as to what has gone on with it.

A brief history of what happened in case you're not fully aware... I posted that youtube video about a week ago, and after the 4th day it started to go viral. I was periodically checking it to view comments when I noticed the hits were going up at about 10,000 an hour... Once it got up to about 150k views with over 300 supportive comments, Activision pulled it. I was really confused seeing as how there were many other World of Starcraft projects attempted and youtubed, and furthermore confused by the copyright issue. Everything inside of Blizzard's editor is copyrighted material so I thought as long as things were being produced within SC2 it was fair game regardless of title.

Kid logic I suppose.

The Deputy General Council from Blizzard contacted me last night to discuss the details of the "World of Starcraft" project. We talked for a while and apparently some people from Blizz were concerned I was developing the game somehow outside of SC2. Anyways I explained the details of the project to him and made it clear this mod was to be developed within SC2. After that was clear he obviously wanted the name to be changed... I'm trying to work with him to get the name Starcraft Universe (Currently in holding by Mille25) or Starcraft Chronicles. I am fully respectful of Blizzard's Intellectual property, and they DO in fact own a copyright on "World of Starcraft" and have EVERY RIGHT to do what they did. If I want to continue this project I'm at the mercy of Blizzard's good graces since they OWN it all.

Anyways yesterday I was contacted by Riot games in Los Angeles for a potential position in game design. I'm not special though I will have to go through the application process and testing like everyone else, and this is not a 100% guaranteed thing, and I'm not exactly sure what I'm going to do at the moment. There's a lot going on outside of what I've even mentioned here.

Literally overnight I've grown from a nobody to a guy that half a million people want to design a mod. I've had professional composers contact me, dozens upon dozens of game designers and programmers and organizers. Many professionals seeking a fun hobby project even though there is NO MONEY TO BE MADE. ( At this time premium maps is still just a concept )

Finally I want to say how GRATEFUL I am to SC2MAPSTER.COM and everyone in it and all my friends there. From the Tutorials to the amazing help I've recieved in the IRC over the last four months. That place is amazing. I could have never made the transition I have from the wc3 editor to sc2 edit without that place, and regardless of what happens to me I will stamp sc2mapster on everything I can from here moving forward.

Mille25 and I are going to discuss the possible fusion of his Starcraft Universe project today with mine, and we'll see what happens. But regardless I know that an instanced based Starcraft MMO will happen somewhay, somehow, eventually - within Starcraft II.

Thankyou: Shawn, Onetwo, Progammer, Proziac, Lillianna, Xaragoth, Sumo, Sixen, JmanV, Helral, Slaydon, SCMapper, A1Win, Skizot, Vjeux, DarkRevenant, Dogmai, Fockewulf, HeyRevolver, Mindful, Skittles, rrowland, Phaos... and all the other names I may be drawing a blank on at this time... If you've ever helped me with the editor, I truly truly appriciate the time.

There's a lot of people there who I know are more technically and creative talented than I am..

Cordially, Ryan Winzen

Read more: http://www.worldofstarcraft.proboar...=visit&action=display&thread=70#ixzz1BclAZnbF
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Blizzard has absolutely no qualms about stepping all over the trademarks and copyrights of other authors/creators/artists, so they won't get much sympathy from me. Personally, I hope they have to waste millions suing thousands of people for infringement in a nod to poetic justice.
 
Another reason why I continue my boycott towards Activision and Blizzard. Hope more people do the same.
 
if you read the post by Maximuss it looks like the project will continue they just want a name change. And he is already getting job offers from others.

I can't really fault blizzard or activision it is their IP and I believe a registered trademark if said nothing they risk losing it.
 
dR.Jester said:
Another reason why I continue my boycott towards Activision and Blizzard. Hope more people do the same.
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I don't really have a beef with Blizzard, just Activision. I will say I dislike the merger linking that name to Blizzard.
 
Viper87227 said:
This in incorrect. Supposedly, it's purely the name that Activision had a name with, not the mods content. Activision actually owns the trademark "World of Starcraft". Legally, they have all the right in the world to bar anything from using that name. Blizzard has said they are excited to see where the mod goes.
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Yeah, well I own the word "world" and as soon as the court rules in my favor against the "weekly world news" all these guys are toast.
 
Not the first time they've done this over mods. Before starcraft 2 came out they shut down someone making starcraft 2 mod with warcraft 3 editor. Seems reasonable imo, as long as they're just asking for the name changed.
 
Very much looking forward to see how this mod turns out. The video was actually very impressive. I had no idea that the SC2 editor was THAT powerful.
 
dR.Jester said:
Another reason why I continue my boycott towards Activision and Blizzard. Hope more people do the same.
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Activision is the bad side of that merger. Blizzard did what any other company/person should have done in the first place. I have no issue with what they did because it is their property, but Blizzard is always willing to talk afterwords which is exactly what happened here. Glad the guy is going to have a bright future after all of this.
 
Activision has corrupted Blizzard, I see. What is the point of releasing a game with a mod kit if you try to suppress mods with copyright infringements? I smell some jealousy here.
 
Seems like a lot of knee-jerk reactions with no one reading the updates to the story contained within this very thread.

Blizzard did nothing wrong. They did pretty much everything right. This is a good thing. The guy got props from devs and is getting job offers. His project is getting help from all over now. His options just expanded greatly. Blizzard just didn't want him using the name they rightfully trademarked.

Seriously, take a breath and read before you post, k?
 
I think that blizzard and or activision where perfectly within their right to send legal threats to someone who was titling their mod the likely name of a potential release title. Using something as obviously trademarked as World of Starcraft, Starcraft 3, Starcraft Online, or any number of varients which the parent company would want to reserve for potential use is just asking for trouble.

The modder should have known he would never keep the name world of starcraft, and in my opinion was simply a publicity stunt.. that actually paid off apparently. To be honest i find that a bit distasteful and misleading. But at the same time im happy that blizzard didnt curb stomp him into zergling goo, as he is a contributing member of the community.
 
All's well that ends well, it seems. I'm sure Blizz has been looking for something to reboot their WoW success (Cataclysm notwithstanding). This could be the ticket.
 
This whole idea of being able to own elements of the English language is going to end badly...like lawyer's heads on sticks badly.
 
As long as this mod is free and not being marketed for a profit,it should be allowed like any other mod. I think Activision has gone too far this time.
 
So if he changes the name of the mod, will they get off his back? I've seen many a mod get foxed, but I would think Blizzard appreciates the modding community more than most devs. Activision on the otherhand, all they see is dollar sign potential, so I really wonder where their head is at.
 
Blizzard should take a lesson from Valve.

The modding community created a market for both Half-Life and Source that never would have existed without it. They would never have sold as many copies had there not been a live and vibrant modding community.
 
If you check Slashdot, there's an article on there on how Blizzard is OK with this now.
 
jojo69 said:
This whole idea of being able to own elements of the English language is going to end badly...like lawyer's heads on sticks badly.
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It's worth spending a bit of time on trademark search sites, like TESS. Trademarks are based on term and USAGE. For example, a Chinese company owns the trademark of Starcraft for machine tools.

I would have been shocked if Blizzard (and now Activision) didn't trademark the use of Starcraft for online multiplayer gaming. They have a claim, even if they didn't explicity do so.
 
It's good to see this was just a small issue (over the name, not the concept). I'm looking forward to seeing this map/mod under whatever name is allowable. Most game studios probably would have shut him down--it's great that Blizzard hasn't been so corrupted by Activision that they're willing to have a discussion about it rather than "CEASE AND DESIST" on the whole thing.
 
michael.pa2 said:
As long as this mod is free and not being marketed for a profit,it should be allowed like any other mod. I think Activision has gone too far this time.
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Gone too far how?

They momentarily stopped the production of the mod so they could have a chance to re-submit names that would comply with their current patents. Then they also wanted to verify that none of the content in the game was being developed outside of the modding tools given to the community.

Considering all of this is very understandable and probably wouldn't happen with the other small time mods they wanted to make sure something as this (thats getting A LOT of attention) was legit.
 
You people need to drop the double standard and quit getting upset when a company takes action against copyright infringement/theft. Someone is using something of theirs without permission and they are taking action.

Just because they are a big company and not an individual they aren't allow to be upset?

If someone stole your car you'd be pretty pissed. You sure as hell wouldn't be going around saying, "someone stole my car...but as long as they change the color of it they can keep it."

:rolleyes:
 
Given all the information, this doesn't sound so bad.

Imagine if someone made a software mod allowing six ipads to work together and create something they called an iTable. And all Apple did was ask them to rename it. That would be Twilight Zone stuff right there.

But I'm using Apple as an example here, so yeah, it's a strawman argument. :)
 
Zarathustra[H];1036734174 said:
Blizzard should take a lesson from Valve.

The modding community created a market for both Half-Life and Source that never would have existed without it. They would never have sold as many copies had there not been a live and vibrant modding community.
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Hell, Half Life mods have spawned numerous other games that they make money off of, TF2, Counter Strike and Left 4 Dead come to mind.
 
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