#Morrowind free legal how to#
#Morrowind free legal mod#

I can't say I've taken the time to review every mod included in Morrowind 2011, but I would imagine they primarily fall into two categories: mods that are pure derivatives and mods that are derivatives but contain elements that could be copyrighted on their own. The court's decision is that because the elements of Duke Nukem 3D 'pervade a derivative work and are inseparable' from the map pack, the map pack is purely a derivative. The case revolves around a group that collected and packaged add on levels for Duke Nukem 3D, which were then resold as the Nuke It map pack. The idea presented in Game Genie, where the modification isn't 'fixed' isn't really relevant beyond the console conception, but the Nuke It case is closer to on point. Surprisingly, there is actually some case law that relates directly to mods, in both the Game Genie case and the Nuke It case.

This is an instance where mods, because of their nature, are slightly more difficult to apply blanket statements to than, say, sequels or remixes or other more common derivative works. So what is the legal status of a mod under copyright law in the US? Well, it's probably a derivative work, though elements of the mod may not be derivatives on their own. Since mod rights can be a complex issue, this seemed like a good time to discuss the mod issue. The mod pack has been pulled, but there's been quite a bit of legal analysis thrown out by both the Morrowind 2011 side and the mod makers side.

When credits were added to the package, the mod makers were still unhappy, and many words like 'illegal' were thrown out on the table.

#Morrowind free legal how to#

He did go to great lengths to put the package together and, more importantly, all of the documentation on how to make the mods work together, as apparently Morrowind mods can be a bit unruly. I suggest everyone read both the article and the comments, as they summarize most of the points made by both sides of this debate. The most complete account I've been able to find is here, which boils down to the person who compiled and released Morrowind 2011 didn't have permission from any of the people who created the original mods in the package. To some this sounded like a way to pass the time until Skyrim released, to others this was 'illegal.' Let's see if we can piece together some of the story here to explore just where the rights of modders lay, both with respect to the original developer and with respect to one another. There's been quite the uproar over the past few weeks over Morrowind 2011, the now defunct project which collected and harmonized some 4GB of The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind mods to make the game 'appealing' to a current audience.