Not Surprised: Blizzard Legal Kills 'World of StarCraft' Videos on YouTube
Yesterday, there was a big uproar over an awesome new mod for StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty, titled 'World of StarCraft'. Despite being completely cool, anyone with a sane head on their shoulders knew what was going to happen next, and of course that happened immediately.
Blizzard has issued copyright infringement notices against the hard working modder through YouTube and therefore, the videos he put up have been pulled.
Considering that the infringement notices were done through YouTube, I'm wondering if this wasn't just Activision-Blizzard's legal team seeing something fan-made and squashing it, without even investigating. If it was a true threat, the modder probably would have been contacted directly instead of through a third party. His forums are still active as well, and he's got an open letter to Blizzard, proving again that he has had no direct contact with them.
LETS GET OUTRAGED BEFORE WE THINK RATIONALLY ABOUT THIS HUZZAH!!
Yeah no surprises here. Who knows... maybe Blizzard's new project Titan is a "World of Starcraft" game.
They've emphatically stated that it's a new IP. So... yeah, probably basically the same thing. Like how Diablo, WoW and Starcraft are kinda/sorta all the same universe through different lenses.
If I were him, I'd put in a counter-claim under the DMCA for A-B to say what he stole. If everything he did is possible given the restrictions of the SC2 editor, there is no copyright infringement here. It's the same as if I made a new map in SC2, recorded a video of me playing it, and then posted it on youtube. You still need SC2 to get my map. If anything, it becomes free advertising for A-B for SC2. I don't get lawyers...
So wait. Dude uses the built in tools of the game, which they encourage, and he makes something actually cool, and then they yank him? Remember, there is a WOW mod for War3...
It's a good thing DOTA came out before Activision owned Blizzard. We wouldn't even have the genre now.
Basically, if you are a modder, don't use activision tools to make a mod. Use Unreal Dev Kit.
PS. Pretty much confirms they are working on a world of starcraft.
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"...I had to be convinced that this EA... was an EA that we would be happy as a partner with going forward." - Mark Jacobs on EA purchasing Mythic, 7/28/06
On his forums, the creator previously acknowledged that this might become a problem, and he was prepared to change the name if necessary. I don't think Blizzard has a prob with the content, just calling it "World of Starcraft". Other than that, they've provided the tools to make cool content like this.
Yeah, looks like the notices have more to do with the use "World of Starcraft" than the content itself. There is no trademark on that name, but it is within the realm of terms associated with A-B property. They are probably looking to protect the names as opposed to stopping the project.
So wait. Dude uses the built in tools of the game, which they encourage, and he makes something actually cool, and then they yank him? Remember, there is a WOW mod for War3...
It's a good thing DOTA came out before Activision owned Blizzard. We wouldn't even have the genre now.
Basically, if you are a modder, don't use activision tools to make a mod. Use Unreal Dev Kit.
Yeah thats what i'm saying.. pretty lame on blizzard's part, but not suprising. "Go ahead and make mods of other games thats fine, but don't you dare try to make a mod and copy one of ours. "
I guess this guy got a job offered to him because of his work on the mod. What is crazy is that acti bilzz did not know that there mod to SC2 could do this..... What I think is that they did add it to the mod to see who out there had the time to "figure it out".... I bet you a 12" albuquerque turkey that is how the game is gonna look or very close to what the modd showed.
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PC!!! The only format that will allow for me to still play my nintendo games with out having to pay for them over again!!
ACTIVISON IS EVEIL AND THEY TARGETED THIS MAN HE WAS DOING THE PEOPELS WORK.
Sometimes I fell that I'm just yelling at the wall.
Activision is only partly evil, but not completely evil. The developers owned and operated by ATVI are all decent, hard working and good-natured human beings... even the people in corporate marketing, sales, distro, and core technology group are nice. It's the major share-holders, executive jackholes, and their legal dogs who need a good kick through the head. Most of us undestand that it's just "business", but even business can be taken too far to where it alienates your customers.
This kid doesn't have millions of marketing dollars to spend on promoting a false IP, he's not making profit on it, and he's not diluting the franchise to the point that it will damage future sales (because reall the only people who will be playing it are those who have already purchased SC2, and anyone who wants to that doesn't own it will buy it). I think the copyright clame is BS; it's reactionary, and any judgement against it is made from a business "worst case scenario" perspective - when rather they should look at this as an opportunity. They're not going to repair the damage they've already incurred to their reputation by continuing to threaten and litigate against their own consumer base. That's my prediction anyway.
I haven't purchased a new Activision game since 2007 in protest - it hasn't hurt their bottom line in the slightest, but I feel better that they're not getting my money. And considering the catalog of titles over those years I really haven't missed anything (I say "new" because I have purchased a couple Guitar Hero games from the used bin at blockbuster for $5).
WoW is an exception... I pay Blizzard $15 a month for a remarkably reliable online community, and their latest expansion is quite an acheivement when you consider the fact that the major content was free to everyone in the form of completely re-designed zones and quests to cater to their audience who want a new experience than the one they payed $50 for six years ago. Kudos to them for not forcing customers to pay for it. The content in the new expansion is reasonable - 7 new zones, 8 new dungeons, 3 new battlegrounds, more than 800 new quests, a new profession, 2 new races (which is a big deal), and 4 new raids. That content is all but a framework for the tons of extra gear and rewards they'll be steadily releasing over time. I really see it more as Blizzard's money, not Activision's.
Maybe Activision should find a way to make all of it's products seem more like Blizzard's money...
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