Activision Takes Aim at World of StarCraft Mod

Correction:An earlier version of this story erroneously reported that Blizzard / Activision had served the maker of the World of StarCraft mod with a "Cease and Desist" letter. This was not the case, and we have corrected the record, headline, and story below to reflect that. Apologies to all parties involved. Corrected story below: 

Activision has made a copyright infringement claim on YouTube, successfully getting a mod makers video removed from the service. The developer of World of StarCraft, an online StarCraft 2 MMO mod that combines the lore and gameplay elements of both games. Naturally the mod maker known only as "Ryan" is hurt and shocked by this action. Speaking at length on the mod's official forum, Ryan appeals to Activision to give him a break:

"You created a tool that allowed us to do anything with your assets. You encouraged us to use your assets and were eager to see what we might come up with. You had to have seen this coming?" Ryan wrote on his forum. "I know it's hard to trust someone you've never met to piggyback on your own legacy. The brilliance of StarCraft combined with the multiplayer focus of World of Warcraft. You might be a little worried about your lore being butchered or, even more so, worried about a guy with no supervision tainting the name of your company with poor product."

"Let me assure you that I am in no way shape or form going to deliver anything less than complete perfection," he continued. "I've been following your work since Warcraft. I've worked with every editor you've put out since I was 13 years old."

"If you have a problem with what I am doing or would like to talk about it, I'm all ears. But please don't send me some messenger with a cease and desist letter."

Ryan admits that he has no legal basis and if Activision / Blizzard want his mod to disappear, inevitably it will. He says he will do whatever they want him to do, adding that getting it on Battle.net is key to the mod's success:

"If Blizzard/Activision doesn't want this to happen then it won't," he wrote. "This game HAS to be pumped through the veins of Battle.net to work. I hope and pray that we can come to an understanding here. If they want the name changed then I'll change it."

Later in the thread he proves that he has not violated Blizzard's policy on videos. This could just be Activision policy as it relates to YouTube, which can easily be appealed by Ryan. According to this thread he has contacted Blizzard and is awaiting a response.

Source: RPS by way of Eurogamer