Another day, another DMCA takedown notice sent to a Grand Theft Auto modder. This time it’s virtual reality modder Luke Ross who says Take-Two issued him a DMCA complaint over his VR mods even though he maintains that his work contains no copyrighted code or material. . This is just the latest in a long line of modders legally attacked by Take-Two on various GTA mods.
Earlier today, Ross shared on his Patreon page and Twitter that he had just received a notice from Patreon informing him that Take-Two had filed a copyright claim against his page and content. Ross creates VR conversion mods for popular games such as Grand Theft Auto V, Red Dead Redemption II, and Mafia II: Definitive Edition. All these games are published by companies belonging to Take-Two Interactive. Rockstar creates GTA and 2K publishes Mafia. Ross says he’s been making VR conversion mods since 2017 and this is the first time a company has sent him a legal notice of any kind.
According to the notice, which Ross shared with Kotaku, he’s being asked to remove all copyrighted content from his page, but he still hasn’t been told which specific content is causing him this legal problem. In the Patreon post, Ross is informed that even if he fights the DMCA takedown notice, which he is allowed to do, he will still be obligated to remove all copyrighted content from his page. . Failure to do so could result in the suspension of his Page and Patreon account.
Kotaku contacted Patreon, Rockstar Games and Take-Two about the situation.
“I never present games as my creations, I don’t reuse any of the original software, assets, or IP in general, and my mods always need the original games to work,” Ross said. Kotaku. “So it’s just incremental sales for the developer/publisher, and the ability for gamers to enjoy a kind of experience they couldn’t otherwise have on a flat screen.”
Ross is frustrated and confused that Take-Two is suing him, explaining that he gets countless messages from fans of his mods who say his VR conversions have convinced them to buy other games from Take-Two so they can play it in virtual reality as well.
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To make matters more frustrating, Take-Two has yet to respond to Ross or explain what content needs to be removed. Ross “wishes” he could find out precisely what Take-Two wants to delete, because if he doesn’t find out, he’ll probably be forced to delete all of his Mafia, GTA, and red death VR mods from his Patreon page. He will also have to remove all tutorials and other information related to his mods and Take-Two’s games.
“Luckily I have other mods for other games,” Ross said, “So my fans won’t be left behind, but that would be a real shame because every day new RDR2 fans come to my Patreon to experience the game “from the inside”.
Unfortunately for modders and mod fans, this isn’t the first time Take-Two has sent out attorneys and legal warnings to fans. For over a year now, Take-Two went wild legallyby sending DMCA notices to many GTA modders and fan projects.
The situation had a chilling effect on the community, with at least one major mod stopped by the creators for fear of falling into legal hot water with Take-Two Interactive. While some have tried to fight Take-Two and his lawyers, many of these modders are small developers or indie fans who don’t have the legal knowledge or the resources to fight a huge corporation like Take-Two, which has led some modders to give up on the company’s games.
Meanwhile, companies like Bethesda is hiring modderscreate tools for their community or provide them with ways to share their creations with console gamers. There’s a better way to manage a dedicated player base that creates new content for your games, Take-Two.
Updated 7/6/2022 7:14 PM ET: Patreon confirmed Kotaku that he had received a DMCA takedown from Take-Two directed at LukeRoss and was currently “processing that request”.
“Patreon provided relevant information to the creator,” a Patreon rep said. Kotaku. “We have requested additional clarifying information from the claimant which we will pass on, and have offered to connect the parties directly. We will continue to try to facilitate this conversation.
