Was your mod stolen?

[Hanaisse]

In case some of you modders haven't heard, WhoGuru has just discovered her mods were taken without permission and re-uploaded on a site called Softpedia.com.

In lieu of that I (and IS) have been looking over the site and have discovered many mods from all you fine TESA modders there. Word is you can contact their site and have it removed (or leave it if it doesn't bother you).

So far I have seen mods from;

- Critterman

- Cliffworms

- Joben

- Zaldir

- Quite a slew of UL mods - Arthmoor, you might want to check into this

- WillieSea

- The Real Neraverine

- morerunes

- povuholo

- Centurian

- Korana

- nicoroshi

- ZutheSkunk

- Leodoidao

This is not a complete list, only what I've seen scanning about 50 pages of this site. Rumor is they are mostly taken from mods loaded at PES, so modders, get over there and check it out.

[WhoGuru]

I have contacted them via email, through the site and commented my files ( all comments are hidden prior to moderation though ) and as yet have received no response from them. Arthmoor as well, over on Beth, stated that this is a problem with them he's had in the past. I don't have high hopes on them actually pulling my mods.

[InsanitySorrow]

I don't either, not sure it's worth me contacting them to be honest , Might do anyways just to be a pain

[Johnn123]

Sigh why can people just not have respect for others work?

[Mannimagnus]

This is ridiculous, 30 mods per page, 487 pages, thats 14,610 stolen mods.

My dad says to look up the DNS for the domain, find out who's hosting the site and report them.

[donnato]

I`m only really affected by this through my friends here and the fact that I KNOW what goes into a good mod, still...I`m so angry I`ve had to erase my last two attempts at a coherent post...I`m going to wait to see if Beth stands behind it`s user modding fan base...(trying to avoid phrases like ..."thrown to the wolves..."). There may be modifications to my Skyrim outlook...End of rant

Edited June 28, 2011 by donnato

[Khettienna]

Bethesda doesn't really have anything to do with this. They're probably better off not getting involved, since they have no legal grounds to do so unless one of those hosted mods breaks the EULA for the game itself - and they're not prone to go looking, at this point. It will be up to individual modders to stick up for themselves.

And that said, I hope you all do stick up for yourselves, and I hope they pull the files. I don't know by what process they were put there, but whoever is responsible should fear lonely parking lots.

[Cliffworms]

This is ridiculous, 30 mods per page, 487 pages, thats 14,610 stolen mods.

My dad says to look up the DNS for the domain, find out who's hosting the site and report them.

Reporting them won't do anything. Bethesda or any developper who has modded content on there can't do anything since Softpedia is in their rights to rehost files. They're not breaking any law, only etiquette. The only thing we can do as a modding community is remove our mods from their website and inform other authors' who have got their work uploaded there.

Now where's that pitchfork?

[WhoGuru]

Bethesda doesn't really have anything to do with this. They're probably better off not getting involved, since they have no legal grounds to do so unless one of those hosted mods breaks the EULA for the game itself - and they're not prone to go looking, at this point. It will be up to individual modders to stick up for themselves.

Yep. I've notified the admin of the site both through email and on site and submitted comments to each of the files they uploaded. That is all I can do. There is no legal recourse. The modding community works on the honor system when it comes to hosting the files of others. Softpedia has no honor and now we all know.

And that said, I hope you all do stick up for yourselves, and I hope they pull the files. I don't know by what process they were put there, but whoever is responsible should fear lonely parking lots.

Shotgun! I'm going to be haunting those lonely parking lots with you lady.

[Arthmoor]

Mannimagnus had a good idea, so I dug a bit, and there's probably about zero chance of them caring what we think. Softpedia.com's domain contacts are all in Romania. Their hosting however is being provided by a company in Atlanta, called Peer 1 Dedicated Hosting. The only way you'll get the hosting company's attention is with a DMCA takedown notice. They're not going to interfere without at least that much. Fortunately a DMCA takedown notice is something you can send for free (or preferably by certified mail) and hope the hosting company takes it seriously.

Don't bother pursuing their DNS provider, that's also being handled in Romania. The hosting provider is the only angle worth going for if anyone feels strongly enough about this to take it this far.

Best to hope they respect our wishes and take things down when asked.

[Mannimagnus]

My dad's opinion is that their actions would be in breach of their domain registration contract and also their hosting providers contract. Which would both prohibit providing materials that are original creations without the creator's consent. Therefore it would be quite likely, that regardless of where the hosting company are based. That they would instantly remove them from their servers if they were aware of their actions.

[donnato]

Yeah as I said I`m just really angry and I do understand that beth isn`t involved here...whew...Skyrim plans back in place...Arthmoor`s info under consideration...

[Arthmoor]

Like I said, the hosting company in Atlanta could be motivated to care. The DNS provider in Romania won't though, very few former Soviet Bloc countries care much about copyright laws.

[DaMage]

Like normal, nope none of my mods were taken.

[Ed-VO]

Okay. here's my

Bottom line: The site accepts advertising. They are making money because they are hosting your intellectual property that others want—whether they provide it free or not. This is the quid-pro-quo between you and the sites that you want to host your work. they provide the facilities to you and you provide them with advertiser bait.

There is a clear violation of the law here and all parties mentioned are in violation. Mannimagnus' father is correct.

There are several agencies responsible but their involvement will be predicated upon harm done. However, only minimal effort and action is required.

The FBI is charged with the enforcement of copyright law. Make a complaint to the Atlanta office and the office of the Assistant US Attorney General in Atlanta. They may refer it to a specific division. The FBI is also charged with International crimes.

The state department. There is probably a Romanian Desk. Since Romania is not only on friendly terms with the US, but is a NATO partner and wants good economic relations.

Interpol. While this agency usually responds only to national police agencies in accord with specific treaties, it does have a vigorous Intellectual Property Programme (IP) and you can contact them on this specific subject on their website: Intellectual Property Programme

Who knows. These guys could be part of a large criminal enterprise. Stranger things have happened.

[syscrusher]

Mannimagnus had a good idea, so I dug a bit, and there's probably about zero chance of them caring what we think. Softpedia.com's domain contacts are all in Romania. Their hosting however is being provided by a company in Atlanta, called Peer 1 Dedicated Hosting.

I am familiar with Peer 1, because my company used to do business with them. They were formerly known as Server Beach. IMO they are reputable and ethical, and I think complaining to them about abuse has at least some potential to get results.

[ub3rman123]

It looks like it's PlanetElderScrolls they're trawling for mods. They uploaded some of my mods (without permission) and both were from the site, and it was the same outdated version they got too.

I sent them an email about it and asked them to update the files with the ones from the Nexus and add the proper credits to the resource authors, and they complied. Do they just ignore takedown requests?

[Meo]

Well my resources aren't there, at least not directly. I found a few mods in which im credited so i figure my stuff must be in there... I know its bad but we only know about it cause its in english. Im not gonna waste my time chasing after a few crooks for something that im offering for free. In my opinion, the Nexus is the first stop for mods. If its not there, its probably on a forum that you need to register, like here. Im pretty sure any new modder will eventually find its way to the proper websites. So...

[Antiscamp]

I've had my mods stolen on several occasions. Specifically there is a certain French website (Jeux Video or whatever) which keeps stealing every version I upload. The most I've done is make an addition to my ReadMe about the websites who steal others hard work and upload it without permission to their own. I also list my own official download pages in the ReadMe. I have specifically stated that I don't want it uploaded anywhere else than my own upload-sites.

It screws up my statistics and means that old versions of my mod are floating about everywhere. As I see it, I'm pretty powerless in this case and as a modder, and it's really crappy to see that these big, impressive websites keep preying on the modding community which is for free and for fun. So where is our legal protection? It always feels really bad when they've just stolen my mod which I have put seven months of hard, sweaty, fun work and dedication into.

Edited June 28, 2011 by Antiscamp

[Arthmoor]

The FBI? Interpol? State Department? NATO? I think that would be taking things WAY too far. The FBI won't even pay attention to you unless the crime you're reporting is worth more than $10,000 or so. Making an international incident out of all this isn't going anywhere at all, regardless of our status with Romania.

I am familiar with Peer 1, because my company used to do business with them. They were formerly known as Server Beach. IMO they are reputable and ethical, and I think complaining to them about abuse has at least some potential to get results.

This is far more likely to produce results if Softpedia themselves don't comply. Ask to have your stuff taken down, if they refuse, THEN report them to their host, and if necessary use a DMCA notice to do it formally. If they're a reputable company they'll act on it properly.

EDIT: Oh, and just FYI folks, I Googled the page again, went to where Google said my mod should be, it's gone. The link turns up 404.

Edited June 28, 2011 by Arthmoor

[WhoGuru]

Well what do you know! After a couple rounds of emails where they tried to convince me that the use of resources in my mods meant they were allowed to upload whatever they wanted....they've agreed to take them down and have. Score one for the good guys!

Now if only they'll do the same for all the other mod authors who's work they've wrongly uploaded.

[Cliffworms]

Congrats!

Now I'm patiently waiting for their response for mine.

[DarkRider]

By now they must be wondering where this parade of complaints has come from

[Arthmoor]

Well this, and the thread at BGS, aren't the first place this site has been mentioned. The "mooders only" forum on Nexus has a thread that's been running for a couple of weeks now.

I should get them to pull the ULs now assuming that's even possible since the Council didn't actually MAKE them

[Ed-VO]

The FBI? Interpol? State Department? NATO? I think that would be taking things WAY too far. The FBI won't even pay attention to you unless the crime you're reporting is worth more than $10,000 or so. Making an international incident out of all this isn't going anywhere at all, regardless of our status with Romania.

Folks are complaining they have no protection. You only get protection if you ask for it.

Yes, as I said, federal agencies—especially the FBI—have limits on pursuing cases. Most of these have been set by the US Attorney's office (each is different.) I miss-spoke when I said the Assistant US Attorney General's office in Atlanta. Assistant attorneys general are in Washington, D.C. It's the US Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia, in Atlanta. That does not mean, however, that they will not open a case. These people are anal about things like that, and files and complaints are kept and cross-referenced.

As for the state department, most of them sit around all day with their thumb up their butt looking for something to do.

These are the things your congressman lives for. They all have a staff to write letters to federal agencies for constituents. Call him up and rag on his staff.