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Garry's Mod Is Taking Down Decades of Nintendo-Related Add-Ons (theverge.com)

(Thursday April 25, 2024 @11:30PM (BeauHD) from the Nintendo-lawyers-strike-again dept.)


Following copyright takedown requests from Nintendo, the popular physics sandbox game Garry's Mod said it would be [1]pulling all of its Nintendo-related add-ons . "Honestly, this is fair enough. This is Nintendo's content and what they allow and don't allow is up to them," said the developers in [2]a post on Steam . "They don't want you playing with that stuff in Garry's Mod -- that's their decision, we have to respect that and take down as much as we can. This is an ongoing process, as we have 20 years of uploads to go through." The Verge reports:

> The takedown requests mean Garry's Mod will have to remove a huge swath of Nintendo-related maps and other items. Over the years, player-made content on Garry's Mod has allowed players to do things like [3]turn Super Mario 64 into a first-person shooter or even [4]explore Hyrule as Link . Since there is just so much Nintendo-related content on Garry's Mod, developers are asking the community to remove any infringing work they've uploaded.



[1] https://www.theverge.com/2024/4/25/24140246/garrys-mod-nintendo-copyright-takedowns-dmca

[2] https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/4000/view/4200245595694413052

[3] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_Oc9mhyuBQ

[4] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJCvWXBLnzE


Vote With Your Wallet (Score:1)

by Anonymous Coward

> This is Nintendo's content and what they allow and don't allow is up to them," said the developers in a post on Steam.

Yes, technically that is correct. But Nintendo has suffered no actual harm and it could even be argued that Nintendo has realized more sales as a result of people being able to mod games. This is just another example of a big company being an asshole simply because they can.

Nintendo has the right to do this and I have the right to not give money to assholes.

Re: (Score:2)

by Rinnon ( 1474161 )

Yeah, I don't understand this one. Going after piracy and/or piracy adjacent projects is one thing... this just seems petty.

Re: (Score:2)

by MachineShedFred ( 621896 )

Trademark owners have to protect their trademarks, or they lose them.

Allowing unlicensed works without permission would be a de facto donation of the trademark to public domain. Thus, they have to protect it by asking unlicensed works to not be distributed.

Now, if Nintendo wanted to be cool about it, they could give some kind of license to Garry's Mod and it would still protect the trademark as it would be a licensed work. But my guess is that a takedown notice is a lot easier while maintaining exclusive

Re: (Score:2)

by loonycyborg ( 1262242 )

Trademark applies only if you actually use it to promote your business under it. Not to some people just reusing characters from your work without pretending to be you. Even if it could indirectly cause dilution, there's no trademark violation.

Re: (Score:1)

by daveron ( 2034640 )

Nintendo isn't just a games company, they are a media / ip company. To protect mario in Television, movies, theme parks etc, they have to go after projects like this. it isn't just about protecting the current line of Mario games.

Re: (Score:2)

by loonycyborg ( 1262242 )

There's no trademark infringement. If there is no trademark infringement then they have neither ability nor obligation to pursue it.

Re: (Score:1)

by daveron ( 2034640 )

Characters can qualify for trademark protection when they are used as a trademark. Nintendo uses their characters to brand movies, and merchandise without their logo visibly present. This qualifies them for trademark protection. In contrast to patents and copyrights, trademarks don’t have a set expiration date. A trademark’s lifespan can extend indefinitely after the date of registration as long as you continue to use it. Nintendo isn't copyrighting stories here. It's using characters as brand

Re: (Score:2)

by Travelsonic ( 870859 )

> Allowing unlicensed works without permission would be a de facto donation of the trademark to public domain.

> That's gonna need a big citation, bud - your logic would have meant that LucasFilm would not own Star Wars, SEGA Wouldn't own Sonic, VALVe wouldn't own Portal, TF2, HALF-LIFE, etc, Hasbro wouldn't own Dungeons and Dragons, My Little Pony, Magic the Gathering, etc, since those companies have a lot of permissiveness regarding fan made work. Something smells really wrong with this claim.

Re: (Score:2)

by theshowmecanuck ( 703852 )

Sony Syndrome.

Re: (Score:2)

by Can'tNot ( 5553824 )

Well they've ignored it for twenty years now, along with many many other examples in other media. It seems likely that something has changed. Though that change could be as simple as a new legal team.

Re: (Score:2, Flamebait)

by MachineShedFred ( 621896 )

> This is just another example of a big company being an asshole simply because they can.

Playing "devil's advocate" for a moment, consider that if a company knows about unlicensed use of their trademarks and doesn't protect those trademarks, they are in danger of losing those trademarks to public domain.

Consider what it would mean to Nintendo if they lost their trademark on Super Mario Brothers or Legend of Zelda. It's a multi-billion dollar risk that they can't risk.

Re: (Score:2)

by Powercntrl ( 458442 )

> But Nintendo has suffered no actual harm and it could even be argued that Nintendo has realized more sales as a result of people being able to mod games.

TFS is a bit hard to understand because "Garry's Mod" is the name of the game itself. This isn't about people modding Nintendo games. Ever see the movie "Ready Player One", where people inside the VR environment of the game recreated a bunch of nostalgic things from old video games and movies? It's like that.

Here in the real world though, you need permission for Mario or Link to appear outside of a Nintendo game. I'm not normally one to defend Nintendo, but this is no different than if Disney decided to

And people are surprised? (Score:2)

by SvnLyrBrto ( 62138 )

The only surprise here is that these mods have existed so long as they already have *without* Nintendo getting them taken down... or suing the pants off the modders, Gerry, and Valve... or trying to get one or all those prosecuted and imprisoned. Nintendo has a long and reliable history of being very litigious with anyone who even looks at their IP funny. This goes at least as far back (in my own memory) to the old Game Genie for the 8-bit NES, the makers of which Nintendo sued and tried to put out of bus

Dear God, those video links (Score:2)

by Powercntrl ( 458442 )

Editors, not that you'll read this, next time please add a screamy obnoxious YouTuber warning.

Better to use medicines at the outset than at the last moment.