[BlackJacket]

Originally Posted by Smiler2009

You shoot down your own argument right there. the Mod IS the original work of authorship which the copyright covers. System and method of operation don't apply, that's like trying to say you are copyrighting the syphon principal for a cistern, you can copyright the drawings of the cistern but not the syphon principal.

The copyright covers the actual mod itself, the intellectual property, the code written to make the whole. If you want to write a mod that does an identical job but written in a markedly different way then you'll have no copyright worries. If you copy the code verbatim you are breaking the law even if you write it all out by hand yourself.

Ask Microsoft if it minds you distributing DOS or Windows3.11, both obsolete, they surely wouldn't mind....

Edit: You wanted cites....

Have a look at this US software copyright attorney website which puts in laymans terms how software is protected internationally

http://www.softwareprotection.com/copyright.htm

Jeff.

You miss understood what i said. My argument was you cannot copyright the scripting language. I'm saying the O.P. can create the same mod using the same scripting language that has the exact same output without being threatened by copyright laws.

PHP is a method of operation.

Originally Posted by osayidan

You can copyright a release of code, but you can not copyright the objective of said code or the method in which it is achieved.

If this were true, there would only be one forum software written for php.

So nothing is stopping people from taking an abandoned mod, studying it, and making an improved/updated version using the concepts the original describes. There no technology patents in question here so it's not like reverse engineering an iPhone and having apple chase after you.

So why not make a better version of a mod instead of changing a few lines of code? Too lazy? Don't do it.

This is what i was trying to say.