Hey Civ fans,

While putting an NSIS installer together for a Dune mod, I was prompted to select a license agreement. This begs the question:

Under what terms are we allowed to redistribute mods we make? What rights are given to us by Firaxis games and their publisher for modding, with regards to source code and art, and where can we find copy of these rights? Currently the text on the download page reads:


Download the Civilization IV Software Development Kit, which contains the core game DLL source code, allowing gamers to completely rewrite or modify their own Civilization world to their heart's content.

What does this mean? I can't find a license file in the SDK source, and headers and cpp files CvGame.h/CvGame.cpp begin with a one-line comment that doesn't help much.

Mods are derivitive works of CivIV, are we allowed to create and distribute derivitive non-source-code part of works (3d models, bitmaps, and such) under a non-commercial share-alike Creative Commons license like this?

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.5/legalcode

If we create or modify source code, do we set forth no terms for the redistribution of the code, the recompiled binary, and/or its modification?

Also, what rights do fans / fan-fiction authors hold with regards to copyright? Am I allowed to create and distribute non-commerical works tied to Frank Herbert under fair use law?

I'm not trying to turn this into slashdot, I just want to protect myself and not step on any author's work before I begin.

-e

I'm no lawyer, but I think that the assumption most modders work under is that anything is fair game as long as you don't try to make a profit off of the mods.

Firaxis is obviously fine with people modding the game and using their code for downloadable mods. Or else they wouldn't have made the game so easily moddable and released the SDK.

And I can't really see Frank Herbert's Estate even learning about the existance of a Civ 4 videogame mod set in the Dune universe. Even if they (by some quirk of fate) found out, do you really think they would care enough to sue you? :p

The license agreement is in the civ 4 readme. The part you're interested in starts with "You are expressly prohibited from selling or otherwise profiting from any levels, add-on packs, sequels"

Basicly it says you can't:
Make a mod that can be run without having a full copy of civ 4.
Include a modified exe file.
Include anything illegal.
Sell your mod without permission from take 2.

As long as you don't break any of the above points it should be ok.

snarko:
Thanks, that's exactly what I'm looking for; I guess I expected to find it in the source code for the DLL. Maybe if someone from take2/firaxis is reading this, they can explicitly add that file to the zip of the source.

And I can't really see Frank Herbert's Estate even learning about the existance of a Civ 4 videogame mod set in the Dune universe. Even if they (by some quirk of fate) found out, do you really think they would care enough to sue you?

Well, according to the loosly (and maybe factually incorrect) wikipedia article about the US fair use, the holders of the copyright can argue (probably unsuccessfully) that we hurt their market for a commercial dune civ4 mod.
Fair use looks like it covers things like parody, criticism, education, and free-speech, but entertainment isn't strongly supported.

I think, as long as we don't use literal quotes from the books, redistribute any non-firaxis art or code without contacting copyright holders, we're ok.

-e

epu... i believe ur right... just dont do anything to piss them off and dont give them anything to sue u about...

If they sue you, you'll probably loose because they're gonna have better layers. But if they sue you, all you have to do is tell the press that you're being sued for being a fan and modding a game. You'll make more money from press interviews, and they'll loose out due to the bad publisity.
Its in no ones interest to sue.