Lately I have been seriously considering creating a Golarion overhaul mod for the grand strategy game Europa Universalis 4.
I've been doing research, and tinkered around with EU4's game files, and now fully believe that I can make it a fun and well working mod, and a good representation of Golarion.
One last thing I need to be certain of before I start a project of this scale, is its legality. Which brings me to my question:
Would such a mod be allowed under Paizo's community use policy?
An important thing to note when considering the question:
The mod itself would be non commercial. Using the mod would however require ownership of the game Europa Universalis 4. How would that work under the CUP?
I can give more information about what I'm planning, in case more is needed to answer my question, or if people are curious.
Paradox's Mod Policy:
https://www.paradoxplaza.com/mod-static-info-ca.html
Now, I don't speak Legal, but I do know that the Game of Thrones mod for CK2 (which uses the same mod policy) has been very popular, and has survived the public eye without getting cease and desisted by any party.
Chief Technical Officer
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The basic question is really "Can you do it in a way that complies with both Paradox's policy and our Community Use Policy?"
Frankly, I don't see how you can even do it under Paradox's policy alone:
Your mod may not contain any material which ... [note that there's a key verb missing here]... resemblance any recognisable third party brand, character or personality, including but not limited to any trademarks or logos except for those assets provided by Paradox
I believe they are saying you can use their IP (given other restrictions in the policy), or you can use your own IP, but you can't use other people's IP. So it seems to me the Game of Thrones mod you mention probably violates their policy.
Then, with respect to working with our Community Use Policy, we have this collision:
By publishing a mod based on a Paradox game, you hereby grant to Paradox and its affiliates a nonexclusive, royalty-free, sublicensable and perpetual right to use, reproduce, modify, create derivative works from, distribute, transmit, broadcast, and otherwise communicate, publicly display and publicly perform your mod.
The permissions granted under this Policy are personal to you and may not be assigned or transferred without our consent.
Because Paradox's policy lets them create derivative works from your mod, that would mean that if you put (for example) Valeros into your mod, they could use Valeros anywhere, and that's not okay, which is exactly why our Policy's rights don't transfer.
Thanks you for your response. I agree that the two pieces you mention would certainly be a problem.
Your first quoted issue seems to be a pretty solid no on any third party content, I agree.
I interpret the second one slightly differently, based on the very last word. They would be granted the right to use, reproduce etc etc the mod. Not content from the mod.
But regardless of how its interpreted, I don't quite understand how certain popular overhaul mods are even possible with Paradox's policy. I could name three just off the top of my head that would be in violation. I've asked their forum moderator, who has been leading the discussion on their modding policy, for his insights into this problem.
Hopefully he can clear this up. I'll await his response for now.
... So it seems to me the Game of Thrones mod you mention probably violates their policy.
And yet they even have dedicated sub-forums on their site for Crusader Kings 2 mods based on stuff like Game of Thrones, Warhammer, or Skyrim.
(Yes, I know it's an old thread, but I found it interesting to make a note of that.)