ABH20: I remember the exact same thing happening to a massive LOTR mod for Morrowind that was under development as well. The petition isn't going to do any good, the Morrowind mod was based purely on the books but still got slapped down.
PetrusOctavianus: I thought it was legal to use names and settings from commercial products as long as its for non profit purpose and you don't use copyrighted artwork?
I think this user I read from the escapist explained the situation neatly and I quote:
"You are addressing the wrong company. Like anything Dungeon and Dragons is addressed to Hasbro, Anything Tolkien is owned by SZ. THe man bought the rights for ALL MEDIA outside books (I beleive) from tolkien directly. He made a promise to respect the spirit of the books and that's all. It cannot be public domain because someone still owns the intellictual rights, either Christopher who is "continuing" the series and the SZ who allowed WB to use the IP. THey also let Turbine use the IP, but could not really do anything before the Fellowship of the Ring. That's why in the MMO, Things from the "Hobbit" are really not mentioned, neither is the SIllimarillion (sp.)and so on.
WB has use of the property, and in order to keep that property excusive they have to defend it.
THe problem is, while the modders won't make any cash, Bethesda will. For there are people who didn't jump on the Elder scrolls bandwagon (cough cough ME!) that would purchase it for a LotR mod. And WB and SZ will not see ANY of that cash.
Which is all ironic since the Mojang and Bethesda "scroll" nonsense. Not that had anything to do with the Modders.
BUT BUT IT ISN'T FAIR!
Maybe not, however, there is alot of people who's intellectual property has stomped upon when they are still alive let alone dead, because they gave it up or lost it (fairly or unfairly).Do you have the right to defend what you own or created? I think so. If I rewrote LotR using modern language and posted, free, on the internet would I be infriging the IP? Maybe. It's a dangerous game to play IP chicken with a big company. Chances are that they have a leg to stand on and the lawyers to back it up.
IF I wrote something original, took the time to copyright it and had it printed as a book, only to find someone using it in a game as a free mod because he loved it...I'd be flattered, however, if people bought the game just to play the mod, I'd be slightly upset. My property is being used and all I have to show for it is my revenues from my books. I will never see any money from the game because I don't have a contract with that game. Worse, what if they changed how the characters act? Is that fair? I wrote the character to be moody and violent, there was a reason. Why is a bunch of modders rewriting my book?
At the end, WB is protecting its IP rights. It paid for these rights and has to pay the "Rental fees" on it and has to obey the rules that were set down by the owners of the IP. Modders don't have that, they can do anything they want. And with a game as popular as Skyrim, that's a lot of cash that the IP owners will not see. Plus, interfering with current and upcoming games that they produced because the mod is better and you already bought skyrim. Is that fair?
Whether or not you agree with them, do understand why they are doing it. They are protecting an investment, a legacy of a man, and keeping a promise. They are not being mean to the poor, poor Modders."
