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Last Friday we introduced you to Luke Ross: a modder who now makes $20,000 a month on Patreon and makes big games like Grand Theft Auto V and Red Dead Redemption 2 to virtual reality. But the publisher of those games, Take-Two Interactive, apparently wasn’t amused — and Patreon is now threatening to ban his account unless he goes along with a DMCA takedown.
What does Take-Two want from him? That’s not really clear, but it looks like Ross will be forced to remove his VR mods anyway.
Here’s a copy of the message Ross says he received from Patreon on Wednesday morning The edge:
Richard (Patreon)
Jul 6, 2022 at 8:54 am PDT
Hello,
My name is Richard and I am contacting you from the Patreon Trust & Safety team
We recently received a copyright claim for works you make available on Patreon. Specifically, the claim comes from Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc., the parent company of Rockstar Games, Inc. and 2K Games, Inc., which owns the rights to use Grand Theft Auto, Red Dead Redemption 2, and Mafia Definitive Edition in your posts on Patreon.
We ask that you remove any copyrighted work from your Patreon page. If you do not remove these works in a timely manner, or if we have difficulty determining the extent of potential infringement on your part, we may suspend your account or the offending postings until all claimed materials are removed.
For more details on what to do if you receive a DMCA against your Page, see here: https://support.patreon.com/hc/en-us/articles/208020666-What-happens-when-I- Receive-a-DMCA-notification-of-alleged-infringement-
Please note that even if you file a counter-notification, you must still remove the claimed content from your site.
Thank you in advance for your understanding and processing of this claim. Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns.
Patreon Trust & Safety
Monday – Friday
9am – 6pm PST
As you can see, there isn’t much room for negotiation there. Patreon clearly says Ross must remove “all copyrighted work” even if he appeals. And according to Patreon’s DMCA FAQ page, he only has 48 hours to comply, although Ross tells us he didn’t actually receive a copy of Take-Two’s DMCA takedown request and doesn’t know what they’re asking of him .
What should a modder do? In a public blog post, Ross says he doesn’t think he actually hosts copyrighted material. “[N]One of my mods was created using software owned by Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. and the mods are not intended to replace their games, nor are they a means of exploiting Take-Two Interactive Software’s proprietary intellectual property or assets , Inc.” You must purchase the original game for them to work.
But the “they’re just mods” argument has never stopped Take-Two. There was one wave after another GTA V modding raids, and the company even filed a lawsuit when a DMCA takedown wasn’t scary enough. Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick even defended the company’s behavior in a 2021 earnings call, trying to explain that Take-Two doesn’t necessarily hate mods. “That means if there is a threat to the economy or if there is bad behavior and we know how to define that, then we would issue a takedown notice,” he said. At the time, it seemed like the crackdown on mods would pave the way for Remastered Grand Theft Auto games; We haven’t heard from an officer yet GTA V VR mode, but that’s true san andreas comes to VR. It’s possible that Take-Two thinks Ross’ mods will dry up demand for official VR titles. Take-Two has also filed lawsuits against mods that enable cheaters, which is obviously a little less controversial.
Take-Two did not respond to our request for comment.
Because he’s on Patreon, Ross doesn’t have many options, and he believes he’ll likely be forced to remove any mention of Rockstar’s games from the site, even if Take-Two doesn’t explain a bit. This is how his post ends:
“[I]Being left in the dark is just a safe bet, and I won’t risk other games getting caught up in the cleanup if Patreon decides to shut down my page. This means that all posts, images, guides, recommendations, tutorials and most importantly my VR mods for GTA V, Red Dead Redemption 2, Mafia: Definitive Edition, Mafia II: Definitive Edition, Mafia III: Definitive Edition are and will be taken down no longer be available for download.
I refuse to believe that this is what Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. wants, as it would be an extremely anti-customer and anti-player move on their part. But I’m not getting into a lawsuit with them. If they want to impose their corporate dominance with player interests as collateral damage, I have no power to stop them.
Patreon spokeswoman Ellen Satterwhite tells The edge that the company will indeed reach out to Take-Two for more information on what is actually being claimed and has offered to connect both parties directly to work things out. “We sincerely hope that direct communication between the parties will be productive,” part of a statement said The edge. Ross plans to try that.
We asked Patreon if the 48-hour limit is still in effect, or if Ross can wait for Take-Two to clarify his demands before cleaning the house.
Ross tells me he has no regrets edge Interview, even if it could spell disaster for his Patreon. He says: “In the fight to get the message across that it is only the will of studios and publishers (or lack thereof) that prevents AAA games from being ported to VR, this is probably a sad but necessary step. “
You can read more about this alleged fight in our original story.
