The EULA: Analysis + Proposal

Custom Games
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Reforged EULA - A Proposal

This is not going to be yet another rant about the new EULA - we have had enough of those already.

Instead what I am trying to do in this post is to summarize how the current EULA is potentially going to affect the WC3 modding scene and how Blizzard can adjust the EULA in order to make all sides profit.

My Background

First of all: I am a WC3 modder by heart. I created several small and big maps such as

  • Guilds of Hyppos RPG (approx 3k hours of work)
  • Monster Master RPG (approx 0.5k hours of work)
  • Line Tower Wars - Evolution (approx 0.3k hours of work)
  • Spider Empire (approx 0.1k hours of work)

just to name a few …
In short I have put tons of hours into making mods for WC3.

The EULA and its Problem

Let’s keep it simple stupid: From what I (as non legal) understood from the EULA is that everything you create with the WC3:Reforged editor is blizzards intellectual property (IP). This especially means that it isn’t your IP.

This means that you no longer have any rights to do whatever with your WC3:Reforged creations. In the worst case you could theoretically be sued by Blizzard if you tried to later make a stand-alone game out of your mod. Or Blizzard could simply ban your custom game from BattleNet without asking you for permission.

The consequences are that standalones like DotA2, Elemental TD 2, Legion TD 2 by their original WC3 authors are a thing of the past.

The “Dota2 Problem”

Why would Blizzard even create such an EULA if they on the other handside try to significantly improve the custom gaming scene? It is like two counteracting mechanics being implemented!

There are only speculations but it can be assumed that the path for making a standalone version of the most popular WC3 mod ever (DotA2) was not to the interest of Blizzard. In fact at about the same time Valve and Blizzard were creating two more or less competing titles based on DotA. They had lawsuits about the names and trademarks and apparently Blizzard lost the case.

Back then

At around 2006-2008 me and my friends back then played lots of DotA. And with this we were very curious why Blizzard was not taking actions in getting into contact with its author (Icefrog) and would finally create a standalone version of it in collaboration with the original author. I can only assume that basically every player was literally asking why this never really happened …

Until it did! But not via Blizzard but via Valve as you might all know to the very unpleasant outcome to Blizzard.

The WC3:Reforged EULA

The EULA is the monument crafted by Blizzard that would prevent such a disaster for Blizzard for all times. With this EULA in place something like DotA 2 guided by Valve would have never happened. If the EULA was a thing we would probably have a DotA2 made by Blizzard and probably no League of Legends, Heroes of Newerth, Heroes of the Storm, etc.

If that was a better outcome for the players? Who knows …

The Proposal: Why

What Blizzard actually wants to prevent with its new EULA is basically something like DotA2 “by Valve” instead of “by Blizzard”. After all there are good reasons why most players would have expected Blizzard to drop this move.

The EULA as-is does pretty much solve the problem stated above. However, with it changing all IP from their original authors to Blizzard it went WAY too far.

I am probably not alone but I was very happy about WC3:Reforged at first and was even starting to develop ideas for new mods with all the new features. However, when I heard about the EULA I immediately dropped all tools. I know I am not alone with this.

I would even go further and say that the current EULA has the potential to kill the entire WC3:Reforged high-quality custom gaming scene. Yeah, there will probably still be a custom game scene but it will be made up of low-quality products.

A game maker will think twice if they actually want to create games for this platform.
The saddest part about all of this is that: WC3:Reforged had the great potential to be the perfect platform for developing prototypes for potential stand alone games. And further: Blizzard could have used this extreme momentum for the profit of all participants. This EULA, however, is going to prevent this.

If unchanged!

Finally (omg it took way too long) the Proposal

My proposal is to change the EULA so that instead of motivates both sides (modders and Blizzard) to collaborate on potential development of standalone games. I am sure that there could be made an EULA where Icefrog would have naturally collaborated with Blizzard instead of with Valve in order to create DotA2. This obviously means that Blizzard would have to create a channel and host place in order to create a collaboration plattform for modders. But in the end something like this would have made modders happy, Blizzard happy and would have prevented a “DotA2 incident” just as the current EULA would have done.

Please forgive me to not be more precise with my proposal but I am not a legal.
Still I wanted to share my idea for the shift to something like this.
Blizzard could greatly profit from this move.

It would not only be a world leading player for its games but would also be a serious platform contender to already existing (more high-level) platforms such as unreal engine or Unity.

Cheers.

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I am a huge fan of Robbepop’s maps, and I’m quite saddened to hear that he lost his excitement for Reforged when he read the new EULA.

And that is the problem right there. The best map makers, the best game creators on WC3 will lose their desire to make maps for WC3 because of this EULA. They will take their talents and passion somewhere else. WC3 will no longer be the primary birthplace of new game ideas as it has been for decades.

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Okay, so, where do we go for technical info on whether this EULA change rumor is true? I looked at the EULA on the way back machine internet archive from years past and it just was not very different. To me, making content for Warcraft III was never a way to make a game and people who think that it is a way to make a game are uneducated. Blizzard Entertainment is a company whose primary business for many years was selling people permission to play a World of Warcraft character which Blizzard could take away from them for trying to explore Mount Hyjal and other banned/hidden regions even if the players had dedicated thousands of hours to playing World of Warcraft. They are the owners of the Warcraft IP. If you make a Warcraft thing, they own you. I don’t think that idea is even remotely new to them. We all realize it eventually.

I think 2003’s War3 modding scene benefitted from people who did not think about it this way. It’s really easy to not take legal people speaking legalese seriously when they’re not in your face. So in my opinion, people like OP who are spreading word about how the EULA is written and scaring the community are causing the community not to have the powerful ignorance that allowed it to be so successful in the past. I’m doubtful that the EULA changed much, but the people changed. They care more now and they want to care more.

Blizzard never said Reforged would be the next Unreal Engine. They never said they would help anybody make a game in any serious way. You still cannot modify the hardcoded behaviors of abilities on this game other than a few numeric parameters, and you have to reinvent ability behaviors with a scripting language originally meant for commanding campaign world unit behaviors. The whole engine is hacked together and teetering on its seams. Leaving it because you want a good game engine like Unreal or Unity means you’re not a true fan willing to die homeless for Wc3 engine, making 0 profit exactly as you agreed to in 2003.

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I think that a bit of an exaggeration. The map data belongs to Blizzard, but not the concepts and ideals portrayed by the map. For example you invented Guilds of Hyppos RPG so the ideas, characters and concepts behind it are still yours, however the map, the code, and the like belong to Blizzard. Technically you have given Blizzard the right to have a Warcraft III map with those characters and taking that away from them might be difficult if for some reason you want the map removed in the distant future. However Blizzard cannot stop you taking those characters and concepts and making your own game, since you own them. If Blizzard tried to stop you doing that then you would likely win a court battle in most countries anyway so chances are they will not.

One must remember the developers at Blizzard are not evil. They will not suddenly steal what you made and claim it as their own. The negative impact of doing this would quite literally destroy them as 100% of the custom map community would actively leave which is the last thing they want to do. If they are interested in your map then chances are they would much rather try to work with you, including financial compensation, rather than pull a dirty/evil move like that. Face is very important in the video game industry.

Valve trademarked DotA. One cannot legally use it now in any product name. Blizzard nicknamed Heroes of the Storm as “Blizzard DotA” during development. This started a trademark confrontation between them and Valve. Blizzard tried to use custom maps like DotA Allstars which they did largely own according to the old World Editor ToU as a defence for this. However it failed and they agreed to rename to Heroes of the Storm.

When DotA2 was being developed there was another legal dispute between Blizzard and Valve. Valve was pretty much lifting Warcraft III designs and even names for use in their own game. Blizzard largely won this and forced them to change designs and rename. This was not related to content of DotA Allstars but rather the Warcraft III content that DotA Allstars used, which is still correctly owned by Blizzard.

It likely would have changed nothing. DotA 2 could still be made and Blizzard would still sue them for trying to steal Warcraft III (not custom map) concepts like they originally did. Valve will also try to sue Blizzard for naming something “DotA” which is a trademarked phrase.

Unlikely since DotA 2 was created by people, and not Blizzard. Ultimately they could not stop it being created similar to how Microsoft could not stop Yooka Laylee being created despite it being an obvious rip off of Banjo Kazooie. One cannot own people, slavery is illegal.

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Is this statement actually true given the content of the license agreement? I think this is what everyone was upset about. I made a map in 2005 with a hero named Filkrogish. What I want to know now, because I opened this map on the Reforged client, is whether I own the name Filkrogish or whether Blizzard owns the name Filkrogish. Can they actually sue me for designing my own game with a story about Filkrogish?

I think this is why everyone got upset. There is a claim circulating that the EULA contains a clause that Blizzard are now the sole owners of the name Filkrogish. Is it true?

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I personally think if blizzard had it’s way and fans didn’t take the initiative to bring Mobas outside of warcraft 3 blizzard would still be ignoring the dota community in warcraft 3 as they spend years screaming in blizzard’s deaf ears that MOBAS are in DEMAND. Got nothing but crickets in response for years until someone went outside of blizzard to make it happen.

Im just gonna point this out too, warcraft is based on the warhammer universe, which is still out there and still better than Warcraft. But Blizzard found their star in warcraft by stealing tons of ideas from warhammer. All the Zanny sound effects and heart and soul that you see in the old games is exactly what made warhammer great, and warcraft copied that too great effect. But warcraft also experimented in new directions too. Point is OG warcraft is practically a custom game within the warhammer universe imo. Stupid EULA! throws hands in air

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Hahaha yeah we know the developers aren’t evil. I can read between the lines. Nice one. :wink:

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Although I am no laywer, it looks like you can structure your intellectual property such that Blizzard only obtains a indefinite perpetual licence over ideas rather than ownership.

Ownership Custom Games are and shall remain the sole and exclusive property of Blizzard. Without limiting the foregoing, you hereby assign to Blizzard all of your rights, title, and interest in and to all Custom Games, including but not limited to any copyrights in the content of any Custom Games. If for any reason you are prevented or restricted from assigning any rights in the Custom Games to Blizzard, you grant to Blizzard an exclusive, perpetual, worldwide, unconditional, royalty free, irrevocable license enabling Blizzard to fully exploit the Custom Games (or any component thereof) for any purpose and in any manner whatsoever. You further agree that should Blizzard decide that it is necessary, you will execute any future assignments and/or related documents promptly upon receiving such a request from Blizzard in order to effectuate the intent of this paragraph. To the extent you are prohibited from transferring or assigning your moral rights to Blizzard by applicable laws, to the utmost extent legally permitted, you waive any moral rights or similar rights you may have in all such Custom Games, without any remuneration. Without limiting Blizzard’s rights or ownership in the Custom Games, Blizzard reserves the right, in its sole and absolute discretion, to remove Custom Games from its systems and/or require that a Custom Game developer cease any and/or all development and distribution of a Custom Game. Please note that your Blizzard account can be subject to disciplinary action in event that you do not comply with Blizzard’s request or this Policy.

If “Filkrogish” is owned by party A then party A can non-commercially licence the idea of “Filkrogish” to party B to use as they wish, but not own. If Party B then uses “Filkrogish” in a custom map Blizzard cannot take ownership of “Filkrogish” since it is still owned by party A and party B cannot assign ownership of it to Blizzard. In such a circumstance Blizzard just obtains an indefinite licence to use “Filkrogish”, extended from the licence granted to party B and not ownership of the idea.

Alternatively Blizzard cannot take ownership of ideas or concepts which are already in the public domain as those rights cannot be assigned to them. Like wise any idea which cannot be protected (not legally recognized) cannot be assigned to Blizzard.

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Wouldnt this mean that unless I create two corporations in advance and file for Filkrogish to not be owned by the one who officially is the map author, Blizzard obtains ownership of Filkrogish?

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This also raises the issue that Blizzard does not automatically own ideas which are not filed or recognized legally. They would first need to assert ownership before anything could legally happen. And then it would be a huge mess between who owns what that would likely not hold up well in court as they are effectively making ideas from the maps they own and challenging an author who is making ideas of their own (which did not previously exist, so could not have been assigned) as to who the real owner of the idea is.

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