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Hello, modders! If you are reading this, you are probably thinking about making an awesome mod, or you have already made one, and you're stuck at one of the most important steps of publishing a mod - selecting which software license should apply to it. Licenses come in all shapes and sizes, and reading through them all takes too long. In this thread, I am going to summarize some of the licenses that most modders commonly choose for their mods, and hopefully, after reading this thread, you'll be able to make an informed decision about which license fits your mod the best.

Disclaimer: This forum thread is not, under any circumstances, to be taken as legal advice, and reading, commenting or otherwise interacting or contributing to this post in any way does not create or imply a client-attorney relationship between yourself and any other person or entity, including, but not limited to, me (bilde2910), the Minecraft Forums or any of its members, Curse, Mojang, Microsoft or any employees of these companies, or any members or guests of the Minecraft Forums choosing to participate in this or any other thread on these forums.

The first step of selecting a license is to figure out what you want your users to be able to do with the mod, as this is the point of selecting and using a license in the first place. Licenses can be restrictive, reserving most of the rights to yourself, or they can be extremely permissive, granting users the right to do almost anything they wish with your mod. In order to answer this question, you need to envision what users could probably wish to use your mod for, and you also need to take into account what kind of mod you're making. The first question you need to answer is the following: "Do I want others to be able to further redistribute my mod?" So let's get started.

Redistribution - what it implies

Redistribution can mean a lot of things in a lot of different situations, but at the core, the right of redistribution only really means one thing - that is, whether or not people should be allowed to hand over copies of the mod to others. There are both advantages and disadvantages of allow this to happen. One major advantage is that it allows, to a great extent, people to use your mod as part of a greater creation, and what this essentially means in a Minecraft context, is that it allows people to make mod packs containing your mod. If your mod does end up in a mod pack, it can greatly help you get publicity for the mod, as it is shared to people who would normally not have heard of the mod originally. Redistribution rights also allow others to be able to re-host your mod for redundancy in case your own hosting mirrors go down, which can happen, especially if you one day decide that you are incapable of or lost interest in keeping the mod up to date. If/when that happens, you might end up deleting the files you've hosted to make space for something else, or maybe you're hosting the mods on your own website, and it goes down. This generally isn't a very big concern, however, as most file hosts are stable enough and offer enough space for the files to last for years.

The main downsides of redistribution should also be taken into consideration when you decide whether or not to allow it. What many modders see as the single biggest issue is monetization. If you allow others to redistribute your mods, they will not link through your AdFly link if you've got one. If you host your mod on a personal website that has ad revenue, you can not expect revenue from that source with redistributed versions. You will, of course, get ad revenue for visitors who use your AdFly links and view your advertisements, but the users who download from third party sources will not leave you with ad revenue. Please also keep in mind that even if you deny redistribution, your income from ads will probably be negligible anyway unless it is extremely popular.

When you make a decision regarding the question of redistribution, remember that there will be trade-offs, and even if you decide to disallow redistribution, for instance, ad revenue may go down due players simply not knowing of the mod's existence - players who might have known about it from mod packs don't hear about it since it isn't in the mod packs they play. This in turn makes fewer people use your official downloads. All in all, granting redistribution rights could inform more people about your mod, while at the same time, you lose control of it to some extent.

Derivatives

The next big question you need to answer when selecting a license is whether or not you want to grant other modders the right to use your code or assets and modify them in order to create other mods. The right to create derivative works (in this context, that means other mods using your code or assets) allows people to experiment around with your code and potentially use it to make something better. Say, for instance, that you've got a tool that functions like a metal detector - it beeps whenever you get close to a metallic ore. When you code it for your mod, you specify explicitly that the metal detector should beep over iron and gold, and you possibly add a configuration option that allows it to detect diamonds, coal and redstone too. When this mod is used in conjunction with other mods that add ores, your metal detector will still only detect iron and gold, and not the ores that were added by the other mods. If you move the detector over copper or aluminum, for instance, it will remain silent. If you grant the right to create derivatives, you allow other modders to use your code for the metal detector, and modify it so that it picks up copper and aluminum too.

A lot of modders grant this right, because it is possible to restrict distribution of derivative works separately from the original mod. It is possible for you to specify that derivatives are free to be used, but that they cannot be distributed. This allows other modders to tweak your code for their own pleasure, without letting them actually distribute that work online, or through any physical media. That said, you also need to decide on whether you want to allow that. A key distinction between derivative and original works is that derivative works must actually be an altered form of the original. This means that if you allow distribution of derivative works, you don't automatically allow redistribution of the original works as well. To quote some legalese from John Bouvier:

Derivative conveyances are, those which presuppose some other precedent conveyance, and serve only to enlarge, confirm, alter, restrain, restore, or transfer the interest granted by such original conveyance, 3 Bl. Com. 321.
Source/cited from: derivative. (n.d.) A Law Dictionary, Adapted to the Constitution and Laws of the United States. By John Bouvier.. (1856). Retrieved July 12 2015 from http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/derivative

One last thing to keep in mind about derivative works: If you allow derivative works, you also need to ask yourself if you want people who use your code to do the same as you and have them use the same license as you did for your mod. If you, for instance, chose to use license A for your mod, you get to decide if derivatives also need to use license A, or if you want to allow them to use license B instead. This allows you to grant others the same rights over the derivative works as over your own, and even allows you to use the derivative works for your own mod if your mod and the derivative one share the same license that allows for derivatives.

Commercial and private use

Defining what constitutes commercial use and what constitutes private use can be difficult, but a basic and common distinction is whether or not financial gain is involved. You, as the mod developer, get to decide whether you want to allow your mod to be used in a situation where it can be used to earn money. Examples of such commercial use include advertisements, business websites, T-shirts or other clothing, posters, and generally anything of which the intent is selling. If you choose to deny commercial use, designers will, for instance, not be able to make cool looking T-shirts featuring a logo of the mod of yours without your written permission. Many modders disallow commercial use simply because they do not wish others to earn money off their own work. Remember, you can always grant permission to specific parties to use your mod in a commercial context, the same goes for redistribution and other rights.

The definition of Open Source

At some point, you've likely come across the concept of open source code while searching for resources. Open source licenses are licenses which match specific criteria when it comes to rights management. The definition of open source by the Open Source Initiative poses the following requirements that licenses have to meet in order to be considered open source:

• The license must allow for free and unlimited redistribution, which means that others are allowed to sell or give away your code and assets without being charged anything to do it.
• Source code must be included along with the program, or posted in a way where a user may easily find the source code. The source code must be free to access, and the preferred way to distribute it is to post it on the Internet. Source code must also be free to distribute. The source must neither be obfuscated nor be an intermediate form of code or output, it must be the form of source code that a programmer would prefer to work on.
• The license must allow modifications and derived works, and must allow them to be distributed under the same terms as the license of the original software.
• Derivative works may be restricted only if the license allows usage of patch files with code to modify the program as it is being compiled from source form. The license must also permit distribution of software made from modified source code. You can require derivative works to use a different name or version number from your own.
• The license must not discriminate against any person or group of persons.
• The license must not discriminate against any fields of endeavor. For example, the software must not be restricted from use in a business, or for use in genetic research.
• The rights attached to the program must apply to all to whom the program is redistributed without the need for execution of an additional license by those parties.
• The rights attached to the program must not depend on the program's being part of a particular software distribution. If the program is extracted from that distribution and used or distributed within the terms of the program's license, all parties to whom the program is redistributed should have the same rights as those that are granted in conjunction with the original software distribution.
• The license must not place restrictions on other software that is distributed along with the licensed software.
• No provision of the license may be predicated on any individual technology or style of interface.

The above requirements are paraphrased from the original requirements, which can be found in the open source definition linked above.

Selecting a license

Once you've come this far, it's time for you to select a license. I cannot link every license for you here, so I choose instead to link to the wonderful website of TLDRLegal: https://tldrlegal.com/. This website allows you to search popular licenses, and lets you pick a license based on what requirements you feel comfortable with. Some common licenses include the MIT license, BSD, GNU General Public License (GPL) and its Lesser variant (LGPL), the Apache License and Minecraft Mod Public License (MMPL). These are all open source variants. If you aren't happy with these, there are other licenses too, just ensure that you have the rights to use them. You don't actually have to choose a license at all, if you don't want to. By default, all creative works (in this case, mods) are, when put down on some physical media, automatically copyrighted to you with all rights. This status is called All Rights Reserved. In this case, you have all the rights to the mod, like redistribution and derivatives, and no one else can use them unless the right is granted to them by law. If you just want to surrender your mod completely, you can put it in the public domain. Please be advised that some jurisdictions do not permit putting things in the public domain, in which case you may want to license your mod under an extremely permissive license such as the MIT license.

There are also some licenses you should avoid using for software. One notable such license is the Creative Commons license, in all varieties except for CC0, which is public domain. Despite this, several modders use the Creative Commons licenses for their mods. Here's a quote from the Creative Commons Corporation on why Creative Commons is unsuitable for software:

Unlike software-specific licenses, CC licenses do not contain specific terms about the distribution of source code, which is often important to ensuring the free reuse and modifiability of software. Many software licenses also address patent rights, which are important to software but may not be applicable to other copyrightable works. Additionally, our licenses are currently not compatible with the major software licenses, so it would be difficult to integrate CC-licensed work with other free software. Existing software licenses were designed specifically for use with software and offer a similar set of rights to the Creative Commons licenses.

Another thing you should not do is try to modify licenses or craft your own ones. Unless you get the wording absolutely correct on legalese terms, chances are people will try to exploit it, and you could end up losing in court if a case is brought up. In addition, some licenses, such as the GNU General Public License, do not allow modification.

If you have selected a license, or selected not to use one, then congratulations! Next, I'll walk you through how you apply the license to your mod.

Applying the license

Applying the license you've selected is really simple. It's technically enough to only do it once, but if you want to make it simple for others to find the license, you should post it wherever you offer downloads for the mod. If your source code is posted, you should also post the license there. Here's how to go forward:

1. Find the full text of the license you wish to apply to your mod. Often, you'll find this with a simple Google search, but if you found the license on TLDRLegal, you can go to the Fulltext tab to find it quicker. Copy the full text, and replace any placeholders you find (image with step-by-step instructions attached).
2. If you have the source code published somewhere, like GitHub, you should upload the license there. Create a new file in your repository simply named "LICENSE" (without the quotes, of course), and paste the full license text here. Save the file and upload it.
3. You may also want to post the license on the Minecraft Forums thread for your mod, if you've got one. Edit your thread and add a spoiler tag, within this spoiler tag, you should paste the full license text. Make a header or paragraph over the spoiler to indicate that the license follows (often, typing "Copyright" above the spoiler is enough for most people to find it at a quick glance. This is not a legal requirement, though).
4. If you host your mod at CurseForge, change the license in the settings for the mod. Instructions on how to do this is attached as an image to this thread.

And that's it! Your mod is now covered under the license you chose. Please be sure, though, that you maintain consistency wherever you insert the license, to avoid confusion for the users who are downloading your mod. Beware that if multiple licenses are present for one mod, the user gets to decide which license to adhere to.

What does copyright cover?

When you've licensed your mod (or even if you haven't), there are a few things you need to be aware of regarding the scope of protection copyright offers, and what people are allowed to do regardless of copyright protection status. The main term you should familiarize yourself with is "fair use". Fair use is, as the name implies, a set of rules and guidelines on how people can use copyrighted work without having to ask for permission. Fair use in the United States is covered by 17 U.S. Code § 107:

Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 106 and 106A, the fair use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies or phonorecords or by any other means specified by that section, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright. In determining whether the use made of a work in any particular case is a fair use the factors to be considered shall include—

1. the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;
2. the nature of the copyrighted work;
3. the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and
4. the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.

The fact that a work is unpublished shall not itself bar a finding of fair use if such finding is made upon consideration of all the above factors.

What this means for you as a modder and the users using your mod is that it allows certain exceptions to copyright for use cases which are deemed to be fair, such as criticism, commentary, news reporting, teaching, scholarship and research. In other words, you can't request takedown of a YouTube video reviewing your mod, for instance, as the reviewer is well within his fair use rights when he or she does so. As such, one does not need to ask for permission to review mods either.

Furthermore; names, facts or ideas aren't copyrightable. If you want to protect your name, the only way is to trademark, and I am not experienced in how trademarking works, so I can't explain the process for doing so here. You can't take someone to court over a fact or opinion (free speech), although you are allowed to disagree with them. Copyright only applies when you have works stored on a physical media, i.e. when it is no longer just a thought in your mind about how the final product will look. This means, you can't copyright ideas or thoughts. Other people are allowed to replicate your mod's functionality, even if your mod is copyrighted, unless they use your code or assets directly in doing so.

I hope I've got most of the licensing stuff done now. If you have any questions, let me know. If something here is incorrect, please let me know as well. All feedback is of course welcome. Remember the disclaimer; I am not a lawyer and none of this should be taken as serious legal advice. Thanks for reading!

Summary

• You need to decide whether you want people to be able to redistribute your mod elsewhere than where you do so
• You also need to decide whether people are allowed to use your code and assets to make something else, and whether or not you want to allow distribution of those works
• Be aware of the differences between commercial and private use
• Select a software-targeting license, do not use any Creative Commons license except for CC0
• Do not attempt to modify existing licenses or making your own ones
• Be aware of fair use and what it means for the scope of copyright protection

Quote from Kovu»

Good post. You may want to note that most licenses aren't incredibly useful for program modifications; most are difficult to obfuscate, and a license will not protect you from decompiliton.

Just a bit curious as to how they are not useful for program modifications? They should still protect the modder written part of the code, and Forge mods can be considered plugins, as they do not actually contain any Minecraft code at all (and hence are separate from Minecraft).