A Question About "Derivative Works"

[Quisoves Potoo]

I recently created a character texture mod for Lego Racers 2. It is nothing groundbreaking, but it is a nice little addition to the game. 

 

The conundrum for me is a legal one. You see, I used textures from Lego Island 2 to create this mod. Now, most software EULAs prohibit the distribution of "derivative works." This is presumably intended to prevent the distribution of works using retooled versions of the software engine, as while a game based off the Lego Island 2 engine will do Silicon Dreams no financial harm, the possibility of such a thing being distributed  opens the door to the actual game being distributed in this way. Now, of course, it is probably not meant to prevent the distribution of textures derived from the software's texture.

 

Indeed, I doubt that Silicon Dreams (or whomever currently has the legal rights to Lego Island 2) cares an iota about my texture pack nor that any action will be taken against me for distributing it. Rather, I don't want to violate the RRU guidleines, which prohibit the illegal distribution of software. So I was wondering if I am allowed to upload my texture pack to RRUbucket. I know that I am probably being overly scrupulous, and I am sorry if this annoys some people.

[McJobless]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qw9oX-kZ_9k

Maybe go have a look at the mod topics?

[dead_name]

Literally nobody will give a flying anything if you reuse a texture. Continue.

[lol username]

I know that I am probably being overly scrupulous, and I am sorry if this annoys some people.

... Then why post this topic?

[Quisoves Potoo]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qw9oX-kZ_9k

Maybe go have a look at the mod topics?

Brilliant!

Your response is truly hilarious (even more so coming from a non-American.)

Do you know of any particular topics touching on the subject?

 

 

I know that I am probably being overly scrupulous, and I am sorry if this annoys some people.

... Then why post this topic?

Because I am not absolutely certain of this and I don't want to violate the rules of this forum. You as a moderator can appreciate that.

That said, both you and OrigamiGuy have given me the impression that I shan't be violating any rules, and so I thank you both.

 

Edit: How ironic. Mea culpa, Jamesster. I think I now have the hang of the "no double posting" rule.

[McJobless]

Do you know of any particular topics touching on the subject?

[lol username]

Your response is truly hilarious (even more so coming from a non-American.)

McJobless is Australian.

Do you know of any particular topics touching on the subject?

Lots and lots and lots of them.

Because I am not absolutely certain of this and I don't want to violate the rules of this forum. You as a moderator can appreciate that.

Just browse around and see what other people are doing, and you can figure out a lot about what we do here.

[Cirevam]

The general notion around here is that no one cares how much of a game you distribute for modding's sake as long as you're not including the executable that actually runs the game. Don't post links to copyrighted works that contain executable files (i.e. cracked game rips) and everything will be fine.

[Fluffy Cupcake]

no one cares how much of a game you distribute for modding's sake

I guess I should remove requirements from >method one of this, then? For some reason I felt like I needed some security for distributing of something so little of mine that I added to something larger that didn't belong to me that is normally payed for.

[Cirevam]

You're just editing WRLs with that mod, right? Then you might as well include the entire file to make it easier on everyone. No one will be able to illegally play LR2 with an edited WRL so it's perfectly fine by my interpretation of the rules. The other mods may fuel-inject with their own opinions but I have a feeling that most of them would agree.

 

If you want harder evidence, no one has said a word that the Time Raiders betas have included absolutely everything needed to play the game except for the executable, ICD file, and a few DLLs that are needed to run the game properly. Sure, I could piece out everything that I made so the download is smaller, but you can't play LRR simply by downloading the mod. That's the question you need to ask yourself when distributing a mod: can this mod, alone or in conjunction with another mod, be used to play the game if I did not already have the game? If the answer is yes, don't distribute it here.